Dancing with the heart
by thegirlnextdoor101
Summary: What if Ziva's mum had stood up to Eli long before her death? What if she had fled to the States with her three children? What if there they were able to follow their dreams? 20 years on, when the body of a Lieutenant Commander turns up at a local dance studio, the owner of the studio, Ms Ziva David catches the attention of a certain senior field agent…
1. Chapter 1

**_Hello! :)_**

**_so, after a long break, here is my next multi chapter fic! just for you to know, this fic does include a case, but it is really an excuse to throw Tony and Ziva together in a less than conventional way!. also, I'm including a little McAbby, but would you guys prefer Kate/Gibbs or Kate/Ari? becasue Ari never was a mole in this fic, so anything is possible... ;D_**

**_DISCLAIMER: not mine_**

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**Chapter 1**

The orange walls of the squad room glowed in the early morning rays of sun. As it hit the surfaces it careered off in different directions, lighting the room like a huge jack-o-lantern. He was already late. And yet the coffee coursing though his system had not quite kicked in, and he felt as half asleep as ever. He walked around and sat himself down heavily on his desk. Pulling out a toothbrush he emptied half of the bottle into a mug, also found in his desk. He swirled the water around with his toothbrush with his eyes still half closed against the harsh rays deflected off the walls.

"I frickin' hate Mondays," he grumbled, half to himself, half to the Gods who decided to punish him by creating Monday mornings.

The elevator pinged objectionably cheerfully, and out stepped Kate, her smile looking like it came from a toothpaste advert, and with a wardrobe to match.

"Morning Tony," she sang cheerfully, and Tony just sent her a withering look.

"Ouch! Someone is touchy this morning," Kate mumbled, throwing her stuff behind her desk and plonking herself down cheerfully onto the chair.

"A morning can only be classed as good if there is a reason," Tony mumbled with his toothbrush still in his mouth.

"So there was not girl this morning. But judging by your apparel there was a night before?" Kate questioned, and Tony could not argue.

Tony was saved from answering when the elevator pinged again (again, too cheerfully, in Tony's pessimistic opinion), and out stepped Timothy McGee. Despite the fact that he was the most junior on the team it had been a while since Tony had taken the opportunity to comment on his podgy probie body. That was because after a weeklong vacation to Italy, McSelfHelpless was no more. Instead, McSlimTim was in his place, a more confident, still dorky but more muscly and less timid version. And as much as his co-workers teased him about the rapid weight loss and the change in attitude, they respected him just a little bit more. Or maybe it was more to do with that time that be braved a woman's jail and lived to tell the tale.

Back with McGee as he entered the squad room, he turned to Kate.

"Good morning, Kate," he said, and even though the stutter was gone, there was a little bit of fear in his voice. But someone once told him that it was wise to fear. Especially seeing as this was Kate, who would probably castrate him if he said anything wrong.

"No-one asked you, McChipper," Tony grumbled, and dumped his water and toothbrush back into his desk drawer.

McGee looked over at Kate with one eyebrow raised.

"Tony slept with someone last night. He woke up this morning with a hangover and she was gone," Kate explained, answering his unasked question.

"I never said that!" Tony said, indignant at being the butt of the joke.

"You certain that there was a girl in the first place, not just a fragment of your imagination?" McGee asked, and Kate laughed. Tony, on the other hand was not so amused.

"You're going to pay for that one, McGiggle," he mumbled, just as Gibbs breezed into the squad room, the scent of coffee and sawdust following in his wait. Kate had the strangest feeling when she smelt that scent, the one that was uniquely and totally Gibbs. It was the same sensation she had when she was stuck in an elevator with only him, or that time she had accidently sandwiched him against the wall of the submarine. That was a good day…

"You can kill him later. Dead Lieutenant Commander," Gibbs said. Always a man of few words. But the words he did say… Kate stopped that thought in her mind. That was totally unprofessional and not appropriate. And he only dated red-heads.

"Where we going boss," Tony asked, slinging his rucksack over his shoulder. Forget coffee, the risk of getting his ass kicked by his boss was the best wake-up call you could get.

"David School of Dance," Gibbs answered, and Tony turned to McGee.

"Hey, McTwinkle-Toes, a chance to show of your inner ballerina!"

Tim just rolled their eyes and all crammed into the elevator. Going down…

oooOOOooo

They rolled up to the crime scene, the full circus cramming onto the busy streets of Washington. They clambered out of the car, pretending that they didn't notice the clamouring crowd that had gathered, trying to get a glimpse of the drama that was happening on their doorsteps. Tony did not know whether to be amused or disgusted about it. What was it with people's fascination with crime and murder? It was not like they were immune to it in real life, the occasional psychopathic killer making an appearance in their office. And yet there was an endless number of crime shows monopolising their television screens, with unrealistic scenarios, and the crime always neatly solved in the sixty minutes of the episode. He could safely say that that didn't happen like that in real life. And the real world was bad enough, and yet they still created their own horror stories?

Walking over to the body, Tony tried to ignore the smell that seemed to be complimentary to every crime scene that he had worked. He felt the effects of the night before more than ever now, as he tried to keep the contents of his stomach in his stomach.

"McGee, photos, Kate, sketching, DiNozzo, you take the witness," Gibbs said. Tony couldn't tell if Gibbs was being genuinely sympathetic, or if he just didn't want Tony's insides on his crime scene. Whichever it was, Tony, took it as the first good thing to happen to him today, and ducking the tape, he looked at the pad in his hand, and the name that he had scribbled down from one of the local LEOs. Entering the dance studio, he went in search of this Ziva David…

Classical music flooded through the hallways of the studio, reflecting off the polished surfaces. And Tony had never felt more out of place in his life. He had no idea where he should start, and the open plan of the reception did not help. He pushed open the first of the doors that he came to.

As soon as the doors were open the music became louder than ever. Tony's eyes were first drawn to the dancers all probably in their late teens, and all spinning and twirling, and doing things with their bodies that he didn't even know was possible. It all probably had a more impressive French name, but to him, it was just flips and twiddles. And then, his eyes and heart were drawn to the figure at the front of the room.

She stood there with the poise and elegance that had clearly come years and years worth of dancing. Her dark maroon leotard clung to her toned lean body, and her dark brown hair was swept up neatly into a low bun. And she was stunning.

For a few moments she was far too caught up in watching the dancers to notice the extra presence in the room. She was far too busy correcting her students over the loud music.

"Point your toes, POINT YOUR TOES… stretch… no REALLY STRETCH! Dance with your face!" she yelled, and Tony marvelled at how such a loud voice could come from such a small woman.

As she scanned her eyes across the group it was only then when she noticed Tony leaning up against the wall at the back of the class near the door. She gave him a small nod, showing him that she noticed her, and paused the tape.

"OK, you have 10 minutes to get watered. Don't be late back!" she yelled, and instantly almost all of the dancers fell as heaps on the floor, all exhausted and wanting the rest that the floor could offer them. A few more gracefully walked over to bags and began throwing water bottles at the prone figures lying on the floor. Like a well oiled machine the girls caught them and chugged at them gratefully. Tony had never known that dance could be so tiring.

"Can I help you?" the brunette beauty said to him as she reached his spot in the hall. There was something in her accent, something that was not quite American. That and her exotic beauty made Tony certain that she was not from around here, or at least not ethically,

"I'm looking for a Ziva Day-vid?" Tony said, now all strictly professional. There was a time to admire that dancer in front of him, and there was a time to do his job.

"Dah-vid," she corrected quickly, "and you found her," she added with a playful grin that lit up her whole face.

"You're Ziva David?" he said, disbelievingly, "as in, the owner of David School of Dance?"

"Why, do you think I'm not good enough?" Ziva said, but he could tell that she was joking. Sort of.

"No!" Tony, corrected her, "I just figured it would have been founded by some old woman with five cats."

"Compliment accepted. I think…" she said, "and you are…?"

"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS. It stands for N-"

"-Naval Criminal Investigative Service," Ziva cut in. At his curious look, she expanded, "I saw your truck pull up outside."

Suddenly Ziva became painfully aware of all the other presences in the room. Even though the girls were talking among themselves, she could feel their eyes on her back. It was not every day that a body turned up outside their dance studio, and a very handsome agent came to interview her. Wait, handsome? When had she had time to observe that? It was true, his NCIS windbreaker didn't exactly cover his muscled physique, and he did have a charming smile… she mentally shook herself out of those thoughts. Wasn't she too old to be crushing on cute guys? Had she not grown out of that phase?

"Can we take this outside?" Ziva asked after ridding herself of those thoughts. Tony noticed her eyes looking at her students, who hurriedly looked away. It was clear that despite the fact that she had been yelling at them a few moments ago she really did care about them. She didn't want to expose them to the harsh realities of the world, not just yet, and Tony respected her for it. She was like their second mother, to a lot of them.

Outside the studio, Ziva sent a brief look of appreciation at him.

"Thank you. Some of them are only fifteen..." she trailed off, and Tony understood.

"And you don't want them to hear this."

Ziva nodded, and for a moment Tony was too busy admiring her to remember what he was doing there. When he remember he cleared his throat loudly and awkwardly, pulling out a note pad to cover his awkwardness.

"So," he started, "what was your relationship with the Lieutenant Commander?"

Ziva sighed, and Tony had the feeling that they were close, and that it would be difficult to sum up what they were like in words.

"She had just come back from a tour, and she was diagnosed with PTSD," Ziva started, "the first time that I saw her she was in the studio dancing. You only had to look at her dance to see that she was hurting. I waited for her to finish before locking up. Then, one day I had somewhere to be, so I told her where the spare key was. And every time she used it, I always found it and a thank you note posted through the letterbox."

Tony was scribbling notes on his notepad, trying his best to absorb all the information that he had received. There was a moment when Tony's pen was catching up with what Ziva was saying. And then there was a beat of silence that Tony did not initially notice. And then he turned to Ziva.

She had her head tilted back, as if physically trying to keep the tears inside her eyes. Her mouth was pressed in a thin line as she tried to keep her emotions at bay. Clearly Ziva was not fully telling Tony how deep their friendship ran. Tony tried to write it off as a female who was grieving, but there was something that he knew was left unsaid. But he did not want to interrogate a crying woman. So instead of pushing her like he could have, he just thanked her and gave her his business card, just in case she remembered anything and left.

He turned away, making to leave, when Ziva called after him.

"Wait!"

For a mad moment he thought that she would do something radical, like run up to him in a completely movie star way and kiss him. He just felt something for her, something strange, for only just having met her. And if she had kissed him, he would not have minded.

Unfortunately she did not do anything of the sort.

"Do you want the CCTV footage?"

Outside, Kate and McGee were working the crime scene, their head down in the alley floor. Gibbs breezed in, with his usual style, and got to work straight away.

"What have we got, Duck?" he asked the old ME as he knelt with him by the body. She was a small women, petit and blond, with lifeless blue eyes reflecting the deep blue of the sky. Had she been alive she may have been considered attractive. But in death, they were all just corpses.

"No obvious signs of violence at all. Right now, my guess would be poison, but we will know more when we run a tox-screen later."

Gibbs nodded and turned around, only to be greeted by Kate calling over at Tony, who had just emerged from that building, and had now drawn up next to them.

"Building full of girls in leotards, I'm surprised you made it out!" she said sarcastically, and Gibbs had to turn away to hide his grin. Even just standing there, arguing with Tony in her standard issue NCIS windbreaker Kate was beautiful. She turned him into every single love cliché there was out there, and he had sat through so many Disney movies with Kelly. So that equated to a lot of love clichés. He defiantly felt something for her, something strange and alien and beautiful. But there were issues with this. For one, he had rules against things like this happening. And why would Kate want someone like him? A jaded, hardened generally irritating bastard. And then there was his other problem. His past. How could he possibly be longing for another woman, when he was still Shannon's husband? The very thought of it made him feel sicker than how he now felt in the presence of dead bodies.

"Boss, Ziva David said the Lieutenant Commander was suffering from PTSD, and came here to dance when she got stressed out. But there is something that she isn't telling us," Tony said, shocking Gibbs out of the past.

"Is that just an excuse to see more of her?" Kate jibed, and Tony pulled a face at her childishly. Gibbs rolled his eyes at their antics, but was secretly glad for them. The life of someone who investigated violent crimes was plagued with nightmares of unsolved cases and serial killers. He was glad to see that they handled it well, sometimes using humour to diffuse tension, but staying relatively normal. Well, at least as normal as any DiNozzo could be…

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**_so, do you like it? let me know if you want me to continue uploading! :)_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_WOW!_**

**_you guys are seriously awesome! the response i got from this is better than i could have dreamed! i woke up to inbox (27) on sunday morning because of all of you guys, which was AMAZING! thank you for taking the time to review little old me :)_**

**_DISCLAIMER: i do not known any recognised figures :(_**

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Chapter 2

Down in the cool and metallic world of autopsy, the doors swished open and Tony and Kate walked in, as usual, squabbling like brother and sister.  
"Why is it that you _insist_ on driving like Gibbs?" Kate snapped, having just spent a car journey with Tony's bad driving, and after arriving being ordered to go check on Ducky. With the very man who had caused the discomfort in the first place. She was not amused.

"At least I don't drive like an _old_ _woman_ with a sight problem," Tony retaliated.

"Rather slow than road kill!" Kate said. Before Tony could say anything, Ducky cut in.

"A much as I enjoy your company, I will ask you both to leave if you keep up this noise," he said and effectively shut the two of them up.

"Have you got anything yet, Duck?" Kate asked, pulling out a notepad and getting down to business.

"Nothing new. No physical signs of violence, no abnormal scars or bruises. She is completely healthy."

"Other than the fact that she is dead," Tony said, and Kate shot him a withering look. However, both respected Ducky enough to listen to his previous warning.

"I sent some blood work up to Abby, so maybe she will be able to shed some light on all this," Ducky said. They both thanked Ducky and with that, both of them left autopsy.

"What you got, Abs," Gibbs said, breezing into Forensics with McGee trailing after him like the good probie he hated to be. It was a few hours after they had returned from the crime scene, and in Gibbs' opinion it was about time that they got some results. Or at least something useful.

Abby spun around on her heel, and much to both McGee and Gibb's surprise she had a pair of glasses with a thick black frame and thick lenses to match perched on her nose. Gibbs tilted his head quizzically.

"What?" Abby said at his look.

And then she realised what he was looking at.

"Oh! These!" she said touching the black frames by her ear, "do you know that in a survey of a hundred Americans, 98 of them said that they are more likely to trust the work of a scientist who wears glasses! My results could be doubted because I don't wear them!"

This was typical Abby. McGee could remember just the other week that she had been rolling around on roller-skates claiming that they made her "38.5% more efficient". That was, until Director Vance had deemed it a health and safety hazard, and banned roller-skates from the office. It was probably something to do with the fact that Abby had (almost) ran over Bill the mailman, who happened to be transporting blood samples that had arrived from the labs in Los Angeles. McGee had never seen Bill look so scared before.

"No-one here doubts your credibility, Abby," McGee said to placate her, and Gibbs turned around to glare at McGee. It was _his _job to comfort Abby, to be the reassuring father. But increasingly he had noticed the attraction that seemed to flow between Abby and McGee. And it was not that Gibbs objected to McGee as a person, it was just the thought of Abby dating _anyone _with the capacity to break her heart, was what bothered him the most.

Abby, however, was oblivious to the civil war that was going on inside Gibbs' head, McGee's obvious attraction to her, and Gibbs going all protective father on her. She just grinned at McGee's words and pulled the glasses off.

"Thank goodness for that! It was not like I could even see through those anyway…"

"Abby, results?" Gibbs said, gently pushing her into the direction that involved giving him some results.

"I was going through her personal effects, and I found this," she said, walking over to the table where all of the evidence was spread over, "sleeping pills. When the Lieutenant commander was diagnosed with PTSD she was given them."

"Is it possible that she overdosed?" McGee asked.

"Could be. I'm running the blood sample now, I should get it in a couple of hours."

"That's good work," Gibbs said, kissing Abby on the cheek quickly. McGee was about to follow Gibbs out of the lab when Abby called to him.

"What McGee, no kiss from you?" she said cheekily, and Gibbs had to grit his teeth so as not to say anything. Abby was like his daughter, but getting a kiss from McGee would be anything but paternal to Abby. But McGee seemed unaware of Gibbs' inner battle. Either that, or he did not care, that his feeling were too important to ignore. Whatever it was, McGee boldly walked back into the lab and pressed a slow kiss on Abby's cheek, holding on too long for Gibbs liking. He also didn't particularly like the look that Abby gave Tim from beneath her lashes, and the blush that had tinted her porcelain skin. And the look of satisfaction that Tim had on his face for the rest of the day…

oooOOOooo

The day dragged on, and with no results from the labs there was not much that they could do. McGee was chasing the idea that it was indeed a suicide, assuming that Abby's evidence came through. He was checking local traffic cameras to see if there was any suspicious activity going on around the area of the studio. Tony was watching the CCTV footage that Ziva had given him earlier. It should have been useful to the case. Unfortunately, Ziva could not tell him which studio that the deceased was most likely to be in. Which meant he had watched hours and hours of dance, and still there was no sign of the woman he was looking for. And after the first few hours of watching women prancing around in next to nothing, it was getting boring. This was Anthony DiNozzo saying that scantily clad women were "getting boring". He never thought that he would say it, but it was. The only thing that kept it interesting was when Ziva was taking a class. Even though he was watching it all in fast motion, it was still interesting just to watch her.

Tony had been so fascinated with watching the video that he had not noticed the Sun begin to dip down in the horizon, becoming shrouded by the buildings of the busy Washington landscape. Gibbs had been sitting at his desk and rolled his shoulders to relieve the tension that had been building since he had first sat down hours ago. He glanced at the time, and sighed.

"Go home. Come back tomorrow ready to work," he said, and the team gratefully shut all their monitors off and gathered their things together and left for the night.

As they all crammed in the elevator, Kate waited behind, saying she would see them tomorrow. Not think anything of it they started the left without her and McGee talked animatedly about some game that he could finally get back to. Tony did not pay any attention to the conversation. Not that that was anything special, he never did pay attention to McGee. The difference was now he was thinking of something different. His mind was drifting back to the dark haired beauty that he couldn't seem to get out of his mind.

Little did he know that across town at the studio Ziva was thinking similar thoughts about him as she locked up the studio for the night…

As the other two disappeared into the elevator Kate turned to Gibbs, who despite being the one to order them all home was hanging around to complete his work. He sat there, his glasses perched on the tip of his nose, squinting at the lack of light. And he could not have looked better. At some point in the day he had taken off his thick jacket, and now just sat in his signature polo shirt and T-shirt. She would have thought something about how the blue in his shirt made his eyes stand out even more than they usually did. But she did not want to become every love cliché in the world. But for him, she risked doing and being just that.

She was being bold in the absence of the boys as she spoke. After all, she didn't become the protector of the president through being meek and quiet.

"Are you going to take your own advice?" she asked.

Gibbs pulled his glasses off his head, and peered up at her. She stood there, bathed in the light from his desk lamp. And she looked the vision of an angel.

"When did you become boss?" he shot back, the words coming out harsher than intended. But he couldn't go back on them now.

"Is that a no?" Kate answered quickly, secretly smiling at their verbal sparring match.

A few minutes past, and Gibbs pretended to read the papers in front of him. But Kate continued to stare at him, and eventually he sighed and got up.

"You happy?" he said, as he gathered his things up, and they walked to the elevator together, Kate with a grin on her face. One-nil to her. Gibbs' serve.

oooOOOooo

Ziva David rolled out of bed at the sound of her alarm chirping away in the corner. She was _this _close to throwing it across the room for disturbing her, but instead she contented her with hitting the "alarm off" button _really _hard. She cranked open her eyes grudgingly and took her phone off the nightstand to check it. There were no new messages, she observed with one eye open, and she put it back on the stand. She kicked her legs off the bed, careful not to knock the cup of tea off the side that she had brought to bed, but never finished. Shuffling around to her bedroom door, she made her way out into the main section of her apartment.

It was fairly roomy, as far as apartments went, with a large open space living room/dining room with the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom and spare room all leading into it. The morning light that filtered through the large windows made the house look large and spacious, and not a bad place for in the middle of DC. As Ziva shuffled into the kitchen to start up the kettle, another set of footsteps followed her. Her little sister Tali stumbled into the room, eyes half closed and groggy.

"Ziva, it's 0600," she mumbled, going to the cupboard to retrieve their favourite mugs. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"If you don't like it then move out," she replied. But secretly, there was little malice behind the words. Every morning, they had this conversation, and every morning Ziva told Tali she could move out, and it would solve everything. But she didn't really mean that. Tali had come over to crash with her after she left university, as she tried to navigate her way into some kind of job. However, a degree in archaeology didn't really help. She had been twenty years old when she had first come to crash on her couch. Three years later, she was still there.

"You do know you are killing my sex-life?" Ziva continued.

"What sex-life?" Tali said, and if Ziva threw the apple that she had in her hand at her.

Tali neatly caught the apple and took a smug bite out of it, before changing the subject.

"I saw the studio on the news yesterday," Tali said as she poured herself a cup of coffee, "did you know who got killed?"

"Yeah," Ziva said, turning away under the pretence of looking something to eat in the fridge. In reality, she didn't want Tali to see her face, "it was Megan."

Tali clearly hadn't seen that coming. She had thought that it would just be some random body. She pulled Ziva away from the fridge by the back of her shirt, and even though Ziva clung on for dear life Tali wrenched her away and pulled her into a hug.

Tali had always been the more affectionate of the two of them, and for once Ziva was thankful for it. When she had first heard about Megan, the first thing that she had wanted was a hug from her sister. But it was not a good time, her competition class had just come, not knowing about the body that had been found, and she could not cancel the class at last minute. It was these girls and their parents' money that kept the studio open and Ziva's dream alive, and she was not going to cancel the class. And besides, it was a good excuse to keep her busy, so her thought could not linger on her newly deceased friend.

Because it had been true, everything that he had told that good looking special agent the other day. But there had always been more to it. Megan had told her things, about her time being deployed, and they had drug up some of her memories of her Mossad days. Before her mum took a stand, before she had second thought about the lives that she was taking. Some of the scenarios that Megan described were too similar to hers, being pushed so hard to do something, just to gain the approval of others. To be forced into doing something that went against her moral compass. And now Megan was gone.

The two of them just stood there for a few moments, breathing in and out, Ziva trying to calm the tears, and Tali wanting to stop them. Eventually Ziva drew away, not wanting to burden Tali with her problems. Tali could read this from her, and had to say something.

"Ziva, I'm not a baby anymore! I'm twenty-three! It's bad enough with Ari…"

If Ziva was guilty of sheltering Tali, Ari was the one who wrapped them both in a layer of cotton wool, then a layer of Kevlar, followed by building a house around them. Ever since they had moved to the USA together after escaping from their father, he had done everything he could to protect his little sisters. He had barely been able to see Ziva off to school on her first day, being worried sick for the whole day until she returned, grinning from ear to ear and begging him to let her go back again tomorrow. That had been 21 years ago, and he had not changed much since.

Ziva sighed, "I know, Tali. I am sorry."

Tali sighed dramatically in a "look what I have to put up with" way, and Ziva rolled her eyes and tapped her gently on the cheek, "I really need to go."

"Go. And have fun," Tali replied, and she watched Ziva walk away to get ready for the day. It was at times like this when she worried about her big sister. She had done so much for her, housed her, clothed her and fed her. But Ziva was not easy to read, and sometimes she heard what she thought was Ziva crying in the night. But the next day, it was like nothing had ever happened. She would be alright. For now.

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_**your thoughts? :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hello people!**_

_**thank you all again SO much for the reviews! this is the best response I've had to any of my fics so far, which is pretty awesome. **_  
_**today is my birthday, which I am spending ALONE (for reasons that i will not bore you with) so reviews today of all days will be greatly appreciated!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: i do not own NCIS :( but as of today, i own a copy of Atonement! (the movie. not the book. havent read that. is it good?) :)**_

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Chapter 3

It was 11 o'clock the next day when they final had a breakthrough in the case.

"Boss, you're going to want to see this," McGee said, taking out his headphones that he had been using to scan the CCTV footage from around the area. Kate and Tony picked that time to walk out of the elevator, having just returned from interviewing the deceased commanding officer and work colleagues. They had all said the same thing, that she had been a lively fun easy going kind of person until they were deployed. And then she had come back a different person. And none of them knew that she danced.

With the trip having been useless, the two of them were looking forward to some kind of breakthrough back at the office. McGee was not to disappoint.

"This," he said, hitting the controller to the plasma, "was taken from a traffic camera about 100 yards from the studio. Now zoom in…" he did so, and even though it was dark, McGee must have done some weird techno-thingy because they could clearly see the Lieutenant Commander leaving the studio. She pulled out a small bottle of pills, her shoulders shuddering violently as she cried, and tipping the bottle into her hand before throwing them back into her mouth. McGee fast forwarded the footage, and a few minutes later they saw her fall to the ground and not get up.

The team stood there, in their loose semi-circle around the plasma, all not knowing what to say. The evidence was as clear as day, the Lieutenant Commander had intentionally killed herself. But it was never easy, watching another person purposefully take their life, because they believed that they had no other option. And no matter how many suicides the team encountered, they still hit them hard. It was one thing dying a hero, dying because someone stood up for something. But someone feeling so alone, so desperate that this was the only option, it seemed like an even greater crime, not for the person, but for those surrounding them. For the rest of their lives, their friends and family would question themselves, torturing themselves with the "what if"s and all the possibilities. And that was never easy. At least with a murder, they had someone to blame. Without that, they would turn the finger on someone else. Possibly themselves.

The sound of Gibbs' phone ringing broke all of their gazes away from the plasma.

"Yeah, Gibbs," he said what he reached for his phone. The team noticed that his voice was not as harsh as it normally was, more soft and caressing the words. It was as if he was tired, tired of the job and tired of the emotional ties.

He nodded into the phone a few times, as if he had grown unaware of the fact that the person on the other end could not see him.

"Yeah, thanks Abs," he finished, and hung up. He turned to the group, "Abby matched the drugs in the Lieutenant Commander's system to the sleeping pills that she was prescribed."

The team let the information sink in. Gibbs saw how tired the whole team seemed to be, even though it was not even lunch time yet.

"Lunch break, be back by one," he said. He knew that they wouldn't be able to work, not in this state. If he gave them a break, maybe they would get some paperwork done in the afternoon.

The first place that Tony thought about going was to the studio to tell Ziva the news. He wished that he would be seeing her under better circumstances, but this was it.

When he reached the studio, the receptionist waved him in as he flashed his badge.

"She's in studio C," she said, and Tony sent her a nod in thanks. Had Kate or anyone else been there, they would have made a big deal about how he had _not _hit on the pretty blond receptionist. But now, his mind was preoccupied.

When he got to studio C, he found Ziva stretching on the floor in a dark emerald green leotard, pointing her toes and reaching to touch them.

"Hey," he said, starting of the conversation.

"Hello, Special Agent DiNozzo," she replied, straightening herself out, and gracefully moving to standing position.

"Tony," he corrected.

"Tony, " she repeated, and he may have been a little bias, but his name sounded far better coming out of her mouth than anyone else's.

There was an awkward pause as Tony tried to figure out how best to tell Ziva about the suicide.

"So, is there a reason why you are here?" Ziva said, getting sick of the silence. She was never one to beat around the bush, wanting to get to the point as soon as possible. Tony was not doing a very good job of it.

"I just thought you would have wanted to know," he started, his voice dropping solemnly, and Ziva knew that something bad was coming, "we found that the Lieutenant Commander had purposefully overdosed."

"She killed herself?" Ziva asked as if not quite believing him.

Tony just nodded and Ziva took a sharp intake of breath. She looked away from his enquiring gaze, and turned so her back faced him.

"Thank you for telling me," she said, keeping her voice level. Tony caught sight of her reflection in the mirrors, and she when she noticed this she turned her head to look away sharply.

There was a pause as Tony just stood there looking at her and Ziva tried her best to not look him in the eye.

"My next class starts soon, so if you don't mind…" she said again, looking towards the door as she said that. Her message was clear. Get out. And Tony could not do anything but listen to her, and leave. But that was not before looking back once over his shoulder, and seeing one tear drop from her eyes and onto the cold hardwood floor…

oooOOOooo

"Ziva! There is a cute looking police officer at the door looking for you!" Tali yelled down the hallway. It was seven in the evening, and as soon as Tony had finished his report and slapped it onto Gibbs' desk, he had been gone. He had found Ziva's address in some database that he probably shouldn't have been using for that purpose, and driven to see her. He did not want to leave the conversation that they had at the studio like that, and he was there to finish it, just as he wanted.

"What are you doing here?" Ziva said, as she got to the door, clearly surprised with his presence. And clearly not expecting visitors, wearing a huge sweatshirt with some dance competition emblazoned on the front, and baggy pyjama trousers.

"I thought I would drop by, see how you were," Tony said, trying to sound really casual about it. It didn't work.

"And how do you know where I live?"

"Background check."

Ziva gave him a look that said she found that a little creepy and weird.

"Which I totally have clearance to do, so…" he rewinded, but clearly Ziva was already not impressed.

"Are you busy?" Tony asked to switch subject.

"Actually, yes, we were about to eat," Ziva said quickly. Too quickly.

At that moment, Tali felt the need to intervene. There was clearly something going on between these two, and even though she had not forgiven Ziva for not mentioning this guy, she would be satisfied if they named their first child after her.

"He could stay for dinner?" she said, and both adults turned to look at her, leaning casually against the opposite wall to Ziva, "What?"

"I am sure Agent DiNozzo here has plans," Ziva said quickly.

"Do you?" Tali asked, crossing her arms defiantly staring at Tony. Tony found himself in a tricky spot, two pairs of beautiful brown eyes staring at him, one pair cursing him to the moon and back, one pair enticing him to come in. Following the first pair would have been the sensible thing to do. So of course, he didn't.

"If you will have me," he said, and Tali grinned, knowing that she'd won this battle. Ziva had to stop the immature eye roll that was inevitable, and Ziva knew that she had lost the battle. But the war was still up for grabs…

Ziva stood in the kitchen dishing out the food and inwardly grumbling to herself. When she had got home from the studio, all she wanted to do was flop onto her bed and cry herself to sleep. But she couldn't. She had to start a batch of laundry, and cook dinner for both of them, and now she had an additional guest to entertain. It did not help that he made her feel like some nervous school girl. Despite the fact that the case was closed, he still had not shown any sign of not caring. If anything the newly found closure had made him even more concerned for his wellbeing. She was humbled by his concern, but it made her feel small and weak. She did not need to be dependent on someone, especially someone who she had only just met. And yet, despite the fact they had just met, Ziva knew that there was something there, something more than respectful concern. But she did not want to be involved in that kind of thing. Between looking after Tali (who despite her age, would always be her baby sister), running the studio and the general running of the house, there was no room for anything or anyone else.

She could hear Tali and Tony's voices through the open door, and she prayed that Tali was not telling Tony anything embarrassing. That would make the situation even more awkward. Hurrying herself along, she picked up the plates, and turned around, just as Tony appeared.

"Woahh!" he said, as she steadied herself. She felt a sense of satisfaction to note that the food remained on the plates, as oppose to on the floor. That was nice.

"Here, can I get those for you?" he asked politely.

"No. but you may carry the glasses through," she said nodding to the cups on the side, and he did as instructed. Wise move.

"So, how does a guy like you become a cop?" Tali asked as they all sat at the table, spearing pasta onto her fork rapidly. There was nothing Ziva wanted to do more than sit in front of the television with some mindless TV junk to soothe herself. But of course, she couldn't. Instead she sat there, as Tali grilled Tony.

"What do you mean a guy like me?" Tony asked, mock offended, and Ziva noticed how he avoided answering the question. Interesting…

"Tall, handsome, American," and just as Tony began to look smug she continued, "arrogant, self assured, cocky…"

"Hey!?" he said indignantly. He did not deny it, but the truth did hurt.

"You pride yourself in knowing guys?" Tony asked Tali, turning the question back at her again.

"I know a few, the kind who walk up to you at clubs and try to do more than dance…"  
"Tali! Why did you not tell me about this?!" Ziva said abruptly. She had been poking half heartedly at her plate of pasta, and had not really been listening to the conversation until that point. If anyone was giving Tali a hard time, she was going to hunt them down and…

"Because I knew you would freak?" Tali answered quickly. And then more to herself, "And Ari is bad enough…"

"Ari?" Tony asked, as he desperately tried to keep up with the tennis match of dialogue.

"Our older brother. Otherwise known as mother bear," Tali said.

"I'm going to tell him that you called him that," Ziva said.

"Bite me."

Tony tried his hardest not to laugh aloud. They were ridiculously close as sisters, and he could see that now.

"He's protective of you then?" Tony asked.

"The understatement of the century…" Ziva said, going back to poking at her meal. Tony was trying to include her in conversation, but she stubbornly refused to take part. Her sister, however did not have such an issue.

"So, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Tali!" Ziva admonished, and Tali shrugged.

"What?"

"No, I do not have a girlfriend," Tony answered.

"Boyfriend?"

Tony just gave her a look.

"Just asking…" Tali said, but she already had her answer. No gay man would be giving her sister the looks that Tony was giving Ziva now…

Fifteen minutes later, all the plates were devoid of food, and Tony leaned back on his chairwith a content smile on his face.

"That was amazing!" he said with feeling.

"It was just pasta…" Ziva said awkwardly, as she collected the plates to wash.

"Let me," he said, and before Ziva could protest he had collected all the dishes and was already in the kitchen.

"I'll leave you kids to it," Tali said, and she wandered off into her room, much to Ziva's dismay, and she was left alone with Tony.

She walked into the kitchen, and Tony already put on the rubber gloves and was dutifully starting on the washing up.

"You really shouldn't be doing that," Ziva said, trying to nudge him away with her hip as her hands were full. She however had not anticipated the strange feeling that she got when they made contact.

Tony was either oblivious to it, or a very good actor.

"I insist. I crashed your dinner, it is the least I could do," he said, and Ziva sighed in defeat. She would not have normally given in so easily, but today she was drained, physically and emotionally. So instead of arguing, she just flicked on the kettle.

"Coffee or tea?"

"Whatever you are having," Tony answered, not turning to face her, but putting the dish into the drying rack.

"What type of tea?" Ziva asked.

"What do you have?" this time, he turned around, and Ziva opened the drawer to show him what tea they had.

"Wow."

That was all he could say.

In the drawer lay a huge amount of tea, most still in the packaging, so easy to identify. However, he had not heard of half of the teas that were there, let alone what they tasted like.

"Tell you what," he said, "surprise me."

Tony turned around to go back to his duties. But if he had not, he would have seen the first real smile that she had smiled that day.

Ziva sat on the countertop sipping her cup of tea, as Tony finished up with the washing up. She handed him a steaming cup of something.

"Should we go outside?" Ziva suggested, thinking that the loud Washington skyline would swallow some of the awkwardness that was evident between them.

"Sure, lead the way," Tony replied, curious to where they were going.

His confusion was quickly answered when he followed Ziva through the living room and onto the balcony. There were a few potted plants littered around, all sprouting leaves and fruit that Tony could not name even if someone was pointing a gun at him.

"Do you plant these?" he asked, taking the first hesitant sip of the steaming liquid. Much to his surprise, the taste was vaguely fruity and slightly sweet, kind of like very diluted hot Ribena.

"No. Tali likes to grow fruit and vegetables. Something about air miles and the environment…" Ziva said, leaning against the railing and staring off into the evening sky. Tony almost didn't catch what she said because he was too busy watching her. She her long wavy hair was loose and blowing in the wind, the wind blowing in the right direction so instead of clouding her face, it cleared it so he could see her small elfin features perfectly. And with her standing there in her oversized pyjamas, he had never seen anything so beautiful.

"She seems like the kind of person," Tony said. Over the evening he had observed that Tali seemed young, but she was definitely a thinker. She had an opinion, whether that be on the environment or the government, and everything in between. She was definitely an intelligent kid. "Looks and books," he added, more as an afterthought.

"Are trying to push my sister?" Ziva asked sharply, and Tony had to think for a moment to understand what she meant.

"You mean "trying to pull your sister"?"

"So you are?" she said turning to him.

"Wait, no!" Tony said quickly, not liking that look that Ziva was giving him. She looked as if she could kill him several different ways, and was planning in doing so.

"Just to let you know, I can kill you eighteen different ways with a butter-knife, so do not try me," Ziva said, and somehow, Tony believed her.

"You can?" Tony asked, and when he got no reply he continued, "And where would you learn a skill like that."

"It is not important," Ziva asked quickly, again, too quickly, making Tony suspicious.

"You should really go," Ziva said turning away, and Tony knew that he had said something wrong. Why else would she kick him out by asking about her past?

"I am sorry," he said softly, so softly.

Suddenly Ziva turned around, maybe to apologise for her own behaviour. But she would never find out what she would have done for certain. Because when she did turn, Tony was gone, and she heard the front door close quietly behind him.

* * *

**_wow, that was long. :P leave a review on the way out, and i will be eternally grateful :)_**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hey. *waves guiltily* if you still remember me. I'm that horrible person who hasn't updated all week :(**_

_**an another note, thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! you made what was a dull day good again, and a appreciate every single review that dropped through my proverbial letterbox!**_

_**right now i am literally about to fall asleep, and I have a six o'clock start tomorrow. i am sorry this chapter is so short, but i wanted to publish it anyway. there is an appearance for a certain NCIS Ari's Girl (guess who the character is going to be...)**_

_**DISCLAIMER: disclaimed**_

* * *

Chapter 4

Tony did not know what it was that drove him to come to the dance studio that day. And yet somehow he found himself there, in his lunch break, pushing the doors of the old dance studio open, and greeting the receptionist who by now was recognising him. He didn't quite know how to feel about that.

In studio C, Tony expected to see a scene similar to the one he encountered yesterday. Much to his surprise, it was a little different.

There were kids who could not have been more than five years old, all in their tiny versions of dance kit, all littered around the room, some doing cartwheels and spins, some using the whole length of the room to do a complicated number of flips and turns in quick succession. They looked like a can of backed beans on a sugar high, bouncing around like there was no tomorrow. It almost made him motion sick watching them. He was so distracted with the kaleidoscope of movement, he almost couldn't spot Ziva among the bodies. But finally he spotted Ziva at one end of the room, trying to coax a little Chinese girl into trying something.

"I know you can land it. And I'll will be over there to catch you," Ziva said softly, pointing over at the other side of the hall. The little girl bit her lip and nodded, and Ziva tapped her lightly on the head. When she was in position on the other side of the room she gave the girl a little nod. By this time, the whole of the room had turned to watch this little girl, all dropping to the lowest decibel that the kids knew (it was still pretty loud). This must have been a big deal.

She took a deep breath and took the first through steps. She pushed of the ground hard, and flipped, almost like a cartwheel with no hands. There was a tense moment where Tony thought the kid was going to land on her head, but she straightened up, and managed to land perfectly on her feet. The kid's face lit up with a huge grin, and she ran over to Ziva who pulled her into a huge hug.

"Did you see me? I did it!" the girl said, her eyes huge with the excitement.

"I knew you could do it!" Ziva said, and she stood up, picking the little girl up. The rest of the class were clapping and cheering, and when Ziva put her back down on the floor her friends all came and hugged her too. Ziva's face flushed with the smile, and at that moment when she looked over at Tony, he would have sworn that he had never seen anything so beautiful.

Ziva looked over at the clock, them back at Tony. She flashed both her hands at him, and mimed "10 minutes?" and Tony nodded in response. She grinned back at him, and went back to her class, ushering them back to their exercises and activities.

Ten minutes later, the parents began to stream into the room to pick up their children. As they left, each one hugged Ziva, and all the parents thanked her, asking her how their kid got on, and with each parent Ziva took the time to explain what the kid did well, never running out of good things to say, and never being afraid of telling the parent how it was. They then left with the children's excited chatter following them out of there, all calling about seeing her the same time next week.

When Ziva had sent the last kid on their way, Tony pushed himself off the wall to greet her.

"Hey!" he said smiling, and Ziva smiled back. But Tony sensed that there was something of nervousness behind the smile. He had almost forgot about the night before, the awkward conversation at the end of the perfect but clearly she had not.

"Hey," she said back, looking him straight in the eye. Had Tony not picked up on her earlier nervousness, he would not have thought that anything was amiss. Ziva was a very good liar.

"Well I was wondering," he started, "do you want to have lunch?"

Clearly that was not Ziva was expecting as a reply, as her eyebrows shot up.

"Ermmm… yeah sure!"

"Why so surprised?" Tony asked. It was then where Ziva awkwardly looked down, suddenly finding the polished wooden flooring very interesting.

"Well, after I kicked you out last night…" she started, then trailed off.

"What are you talking about! You didn't kick me out…" he replied, partly to reassure her, and partly to re-exert his manliness.

Ziva tilted her head to one side, as if trying to figure out how genuine he was being with his answer. When she was satisfied that he was definitely not still mad at her, she gave her answer.

"So," Ziva said, smiling at him, "shall we then?"

oooOOOooo

Half an hour later the two of them sat in the diner. It was a small local thing, all dressed in red and white, looking like it belonged more in a town than in the busy city of Washington. And there the two of them sat, flicking through the menus and making small talk.

"So," Tony said starting off the conversation, "you're Israeli?"

"Very good," Ziva said with that Mona Lisa smile of hers that seemed perfect perched there on her heart shaped face. Tony could not tell whether she was taking the mickey, or was actually impressed, "what else have you found out about me?"

"Well," he started, "I know you have a younger sister, and an older brother who just had an interview this morning for a post at the NCIS legal department."

"Wow, I'm impressed!" she said, and this time there was no question on her sincerity, "your records are good!" Ziva said, now genuinely surprised.

"Not his record…"

_*Four hours earlier*_

_Kate stepped onto the elevator, just having been buzzed through by Stan at security. She pressed the button for her floor, and the doors slid shut as she smoother her hand over her hair. It had been one of those morning where everything had gone wrong. Her run had been cut short because of the rain, her toast had been burnt and her coffee had been cold by the time she had got round to drinking it. She had received a phone call from her darling mother, who was "helpfully" enquiring about how her search for a husband was going (it wasn't). Then the radio station had five minutes worth of adverts, before an actual song came on, and it happened to be a song that Kate had grown to hate, ever since Tony had explained that the whole song was basically a giant innuendo (how was she to guess that a disco stick was meant to mean something else?). There had been better days. _

_And there she was, frazzled and annoyed, and then, the elevator doors reopened, much to her surprise and distaste. _

_Standing on the other side of the door was a man dressed in a business suit, and based on appearance alone, she could tell he was heading to the legal department. The second thing that she noticed about him was that he was incredibly attractive. _

"_Sorry ma'am, but what floor-?" he said with some kind of exotic sexy accent. But Kate cut him off before she could hear more of it. _

"_Is the legal department? 4th"_

_If Kate wasn't so busy feeling smug at her accurate prediction, she would have noticed him giving her the same appreciative look that she was giving him. _

"_Well," he said, after he had got over that, "thank you, Agent…?"_

_Kate was surprised that he had picked up that she was an agent, but a lucky guess was not out of the picture. _

"_Agent Caitlin Todd. And you are?"_

"_Ari Haswari. I have an interview today with legal."_

_The door pinged open at the fourth floor, but Kate had not noticed the first three floors go. She had clearly been too busy staring at him. As she spent more time looking at him, she noticed the slight chiselled jaw, the piercing eyes that seemed to see through right through her. She had not quite worked out whether this made her feel intimidated or impressed. _

_Ari was just about to step out, when he stopped the door from closing. _

"_You are wearing a gun on your left side, you have a knife concealed in your right boot, and you have a back up gun in your bag," he said, answering the question that she never asked. He smiled at her, flashing his perfect row of teeth at her and let the doors close on her shocked yet impressed face. _

_To an outsider looking in at Tony staring deeply at his computer monitor, they would have thought nothing of it. If anything, they may have applauded the studios nature he applied to his work, especially so early on a Wednesday morning. But those who did know Tony would know that there was more to the scene that met the eye. _

_Tony's eyes scanned the information on the screen, greedily absorbing every new piece of information as it met his eyes. McGee, who was working at his own desk had first looked over inquisitively when he had walked in, first confused about why Tony was at work before him, and second why he was actually working. but he had then given up trying to work out what he was doing and went back to his own business, working on the assumption that what he did not know could not hurt him. At least, not too badly. _

_Gibbs was as equally curious as McGee, but having the position as boss did have its perks. So, when he caught McGee's eye and gave him a look, McGee knew exactly what to do. _

_Wordlessly, McGee tapped away at his computer for a few moments, and then the information that was on Tony's screen transferred itself onto the plasma in the middle of the room. _

"_Hey!" Tony cried indignantly, and Gibbs let out a small noiseless chuckle. _

_On the screen lay the background check of one Miss Ziva David. There were photographs and medical forms, everything there was to know about her, there for all of them to see. _

"_So, Ziva David? The owner of that dance studio?" McGee said, enjoying every minute worth of getting revenge on Tony. _

"_None of your business, McBigNose!"_

"_And who are these?" he said, gesturing to the first picture on the right. It was of Ziva standing there, here arm around two people, a girl and a guy, who all judging by their outer appearance were Israeli, "Let me guess, her sister and partner?"_

"_Brother, actually," Tony said quickly "his name is-"_

"_Ari Haswari."_

_All three men turned around to see Kate enter the squad-room, firstly to find out why she was late, and secondly to find out how she knew this guy._

"_He just came for an interview at legal. He's very handsome," she expanded. _

_Each of the men reacted differently to her final statement. McGee, despite the new found physical maturity, looked slightly disgusted, whereas Tony was puffing out his chest, trying to reassert his manly status. Gibbs, however, was trying to look indifferent. Trying, and failing. _

_Gibbs didn't like the small smile on Kate's face as she talked about this Ari guy. Just by looking at the screen he didn't like this man. As if, in another life they would have wanted to kill each other. It was a strange, supernatural and unexplainable feeling. That combined with the fact Kate seemed to like this guy, well, that did not add to the situation. He felt, angry, frustrated, and for some reason extremely jealous. But he had no right to be jealous, not in the slightest. He had no control over Kate, who she liked or who she didn't. Yet somehow, he was still reacting badly to the whole situation. _

_He abruptly stood up, claiming he needed to see Ducky, and made a quick exit. Kate turned to Tony and McGee, who were trying to pretend they were still doing work. _

"_What did you two do to him?"_

_What she did not know was that she was the one who had caused all of it…_

*Present*

As Tony recounted the tale animatedly, Ziva laughed and smiled in all the right places, especially when he heard about Gibbs' abrupt departure.

"It seems to me that Kate and Gibbs have a connection," Ziva said sipping her cup of tea.

At Tony's horrified expression, she laughed.

"I am just stating the obvious!"

Tony could not quite accept that. This was Kate they were talking about. Kate, the girl whose pigtails he pulled on a regular basis, who was one of the few people in the world who could keep up in his verbal sparring matches (not that he would ever admit that aloud). And that was Gibbs. And Gibbs was just, well Gibbs had no words.

"No, that's just not possible," Tony said dismissively.

"Not possible, or not what you want to think?" Ziva said.

"Swings and roundabouts," Tony replied, again sweeping the statement to one side.

"What?" Ziva said, now confused, "I am not seeing how children's play equipment is of any relevance."

"It's a saying? How long had you said you lived in America?" Tony teased, and Ziva pretended to look hurt.

"I speak five languages. Forgive me if I get confused," she tilted her head, "_sometimes"_

Tony noticed that she had not answered his question, fuelling the fire in his mind about her mysterious past. But he did not want to freak her out, not like he did last time.

"Anyway," Ziva said, "sometimes, you can miss love, even if it is right before your eyes."  
Tony was trying to work out if the words had a double meaning. Because if they were applied to his situation, she was the blind one…

* * *

_**please review on the way out XD**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**hello!**_

_**i am sorry for the late update, ive been REALLY ill, and currently sound like an asthmatic version of darth vader. not cool.**_  
_**thank you for all the reviews and encouragement, you guys are awesome**_

_**so as promised, a shocker...**_

_**DISCLAIMER: not mine**_

* * *

Chapter 5

It had been two weeks since that coffee shop date, and since then Tony and Ziva had been taking it slow. They saw each other almost every day, and even if they did not they talked on the phone or texted, just to ask the other one how their day went. But there was nothing there, in the way of relationship. There was defiantly friendship, and they had grown to know more and more about each other. But the fiery passion was still there, and a simple glance or look could send the other reeling. But that was the issue. Neither of them wanted to do anything, scared that the fire would burn out, and that it would ruin whatever they had going for them. This thing was too valuable to mess around with, too precious to even contemplate breaking. But it was on Wednesday the 7th October when everything changed. When the universe intervened, forcing them into a place where neither of them could back out off. A place called death.

It was just a routine job, go interview the deceased estranged son in law, and report back with the almost certainly no useful information. They had to do it, but both Kate and Tony knew that the chances of there being anything new to discover were slim. They hadn't even thought about it properly until they were actually there. But the saying "what could possibly go wrong" seemed to be getting its revenge for being taken so lightly so often by them.

"This place reminds me of your spare room on a good day," Kate muttered under her breath to Tony. The creepy block of flats looked like a set for a horror story, with a dank smell hanging around and a suspicious dripping noise coming from somewhere above their heads. It was the perfect location for something terrible to happen. So, naturally, the two of them ignored it.

Tony didn't reply to Kate's snide remark, to preoccupied with looking every direction for a rat or mouse that was going to lunge itself at him.

They reached the final door at the end of the hallway, the number 23 carved into the soft plywood door, as if the number used to be there, but had fallen off a long time ago. Tony went first, knocking on the door.

"Federal Agents, open up."

It was at that moment when they both sensed something was wrong. Maybe it was the extra sense, only available to those who put their lives on the line on an almost daily basis, to serve their country. Or it was the now urgent whispers coming from the other side of the door.

"What the hell! You called the cops on us?"

Tony looked at Kate, and she nodded in agreement to his unasked question. He took two steps back and kicked the wooden door. It fell back with ease, the hinges having rusted away, eating themselves until all that was left was a weak excuse for a hinge.

As the door swung open, time seemed to speed up, rebelling against the realms of possibility. The thing that drew Tony's eye first was the open briefcases laid out on the bed. Some were stacked with money, bills neatly filed and put away, and some were filled with weapons and ammo. The second thing that he noticed were the number of people in the room. Even if these people were not armed to the teeth, Tony didn't fancy their chances. There had to beat least a half a dozen men there, all crammed into that room, and all the size of the hulk on steroids. But then they whipped out their weapons, and suddenly, Tony and his standard issue berretta seemed very small next to their semi-automatic machines.

They took the first shot, and so naturally Kate and Tony returned fire. They backed out of the door, ready to do a runner, when Tony felt a strange warmth flow through his body, followed by the most intense pain he had ever felt in his life. He tried to pull the trigger again, but screamed in pain, and his trigger hand refused to process the action. At his noise Kate turned around, and with the distraction one of the men shot her in the leg. The last thing that Tony registered before blanking out was the men all escaping, before everything faded into black.

oooOOOooo

Ziva was walking through the dance with one of the students when she got the news.

"So you one and a two and a three and a four and a…" Ziva demonstrated, flipping in time with her counting, effortlessly turning her body through the air and landing like there was nothing strange about that.

The small kid looked in awe at Ziva as she did it, and when Ziva expected her to copy she just stared.

"Hey JJ, now it's your go," Ziva said firmly and still the kid looked up at her in wonder.

"What is it?" Ziva said, crouching to the girl's height, and taking her little hand.

"When I grow up I want to be just like you ," the kid suddenly blurted out, and Ziva was shocked at this answer. She expected the kid to say that they didn't like the routine, or say that something hurt. Not what she said next.

"JJ, you do not want to be like me," Ziva dismissed, but the kid was adamant.

"No, I want to be just like you!"

Ziva sighed. The kid was clearly not getting it. She took the child's other hand into her other hand, and knelt down on the cold wooden floor, so she could address the kid at her level, and look her straight in the eye.

"You don't want to be just like me. You don't want to be just like anybody else. You want to be just like you, Missy," she said with a smile.

The kid seemed to understand that, so Ziva stood up.

"But…" she added, "that is a long time away, and you have a competition next Monday, so we want to learn this routine, right?"

The child nodded, and Ziva smiled kindly at her. So she moved to her first position and was about to start counting her in, when the door swung open to reveal a man.

He was a tall man, and by posture and haircut alone she could tell that he was a marine. His hair was lightly dusted with grey offset his deep blue eyes. Eyes that seemed troubled by something.

"Miss David?"

Ziva stood up to her full height then.

"Who wants to know?"

"Special Agent Gibbs, Ma'am," he introduced himself, and she relaxed. This was Tony's boss, the guy that he feared, but respected with equal reverence. Tony had talked often of him, and sometimes had her almost crying with laughter at stories of the two of them, and the rest of the team.

No-one was laughing now.

"Tony DiNozzo has been shot. I thought I could give you a ride to the hospital?" he said awkwardly, not comfortable to be the bearer of bad news.

Ziva stood there for a moment, unable to move or to breath. The worst case scenarios were flooding through her head, and she could never remember being more scared in her entire life.

Snapping out of the images in her head, she addressed the little girl in front of her.

"Let me go check if Melissa is doing a group rehearsal. I can reschedule you private for some other time," she said to the girl, slowly and calmly like there was nothing wrong. And the girl seemed to accept that. Until the door had closed behind Ziva, and she turned to Gibbs.

Gibbs could feel the kid's eyes bore into him. Finally, they became too powerful the resist.

"What?" he said, and the child continued to glare at him.

"You made Miss Ziva upset."

Ah. Apparently Ziva had some very loyal tiny dancers, who looked as if they were going to come after him with pitchforks. He daren't think of what would happen if there were more of them…

"You hurt Miss Ziva, and I'll run your head over with a pickup truck," she said menacingly, and for the first time in a while, Gibbs was speechless. Ziva chose this moment to re-enter the room.

"Joe, what did your mum tell you about quoting things off the television?" Ziva said, and the child dipped her head in apology. But when Ziva was leading her out of the room, she looked back at Gibbs to glare at him, and Gibbs did not know whether to be amused or scared.

Ziva returned a few minutes later, now with a pair of trainers and a tracksuit throw haphazardly on top of her leotard.

"Shall we?"

The car ride seemed longer that it would have done after normal circumstances. Ziva had never remembered being so anxious to get somewhere.

"So what happened?" Ziva said, dreading the answer, but not needing to know.

"It was just a standard interview. But they walked in on a weapons deal, and it got out of hand," Gibbs answered staring straight ahead.

"They?"

"Tony and Kate," Gibbs explained.

Ziva remembered what she had said to Tony all those weeks ago in the café, about Kate and Gibbs having feelings for each other. And now this…

"How did you know to find me?"

At this Gibbs smiled a little, the first one that Ziva had seen of him since he arrived.

"He doesn't shut up about you."

Ziva smiled lightly. And then she remembered where they were headed, and what the consequences of the next few moments would be.

oooOOOooo

Gibbs in his usual gruff fashion walked up to the front desk, and demanded his way into the upstairs waiting room with a flash of a badge and a "don't mess with me" expression on his face. Ziva had to admit that she now understood why Tony seemed so in awe of this man. He had this power about him, a presence that made you want to listen to him. And yet she could tell he had a gentle side to him, one that probably was only exposed because of the immediate danger two of his team members were in.

They powered through the double doors and into the waiting room of ER, which was mercifully quiet. There the two of them sat, waiting.

It had been half an hour, and Ziva had grown sick of the waiting. She had not stopped pacing the room, five steps then turn, then, five more steps, then turn again. And repeat. Gibbs on the other hand had just sat there, as still as a statue in a slightly unnerving fashion. Finally, Ziva lost it. Without a word, she let the room, going to the bathroom slightly off the waiting room.

Ziva stood there, facing herself in the mirror, staring into her own eyes. And she didn't know what she saw. She always could pick out emotions in other people, it had been one thing her father had taught her well enough. But she had no idea about her own emotions. She would blame her father for that one. When you are told at a young age that emotion are a sign of weakness, you become unable to have them, let alone register what they were. And now there she was, a messed up grown up.

She could feel the tears burn behind the backs of her eyes, and all she could think about was what if Tony didn't make it. She hadn't really thought about it, but now she knew how much he meant to her, despite the short amount of time they had known each other.

So she whipped out her phone and rang the only person who she could think of talking to.

"Hello?" the voice at the other end said.

"Tali?"

"Ziva, is that you?"

"Hi Tali," she said, her voice breaking a little as she said it. The first of the waterfall of tears fell out of her eyes, and she brought her hand up to the base of her nose to try and stop the flow. "There has been a problem…"

Gibbs had watched Ziva leave, but had not chosen to follow her. She had only just met him, and he figured she would appreciate the time alone. However, it had been five minutes since she had gone in, and still nothing. His inner moral compass wouldn't let him ignore the damsel in distress, so he got up and went to investigate.

He tapped on the door lightly, and when he got no response he entered. There he saw Ziva hanging up the phone, and leaning against the sink to balance herself. She closed her eyes, and Gibbs could tell that was only to stop the tears from falling. He closed the door quietly behind him, but made no effort to hide his presence. He did not want to startle her. However, she jumped when she heard his footsteps, and her eyes shot open and she spun round quickly. Too quickly. The room spun, and Gibbs had to catch her before she ended up as a heap on the floor.

"You OK?" he said softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Ziva said, hastily brushing the tears off her eyes with the back of her hands. She knew that she would be looking mess, but then and there, she didn't care.

"No you're not," he said, and she just glared at him. And then she nodded in agreement, and he hugged her, just as he had hugged Kelly when she was upset.

At first Ziva tried to resist, but eventually she gave up, and the tears managed to seep through her closed eyelids and on Gibbs' jumper. She did not know why, but somehow, despite the fact she had just met this man, she felt safe around him, like he was like a father. With any other man she would have brought her knife to him if they tried to hug her like that, but there wasn't anything strange about it.

Finally Ziva pushed away embarrassed. She smiled a watery smile at Gibbs, who returned it, and she laughed, sadly, but it managed to reach her eyes a little. Gibbs watched the light dance in her eyes, and he realised why Tony had fallen for this incredible woman.

"I believe," she said, "that this is the first emotional breakdown I've had in a bathroom."

Gibbs laughed.

"You're part of the NCIS family now. We have the most interesting situations in bathrooms…"

* * *

**_CLIFFY! DID they make it?! this is exciting, i've never done a cliffy before :D_**


	6. Chapter 6

_**I am a horrible, horrible person. I am so very very sorry for not updating ive been ill and doing an impression of a beached whale for the majority of this week, and was off in Belgium the other week. And meanwhile, I have neglected this, after leaving you with a massive cliffhanger. Sorry.**_

_**I really hope this chapter has been worth your wait. Thank you so much for all your reviews, and all those opinions on whether you want Kibbs or Kari. In this chapter, some of that stuff will be resolved! i little bit resolved, not fully. it never is with NCIS, is it! :D**_

_**Disclaimer: not mine. still. but its a work in progress.**_

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Chapter 6

"He's crashing on us, we're going to have to defibrillate."

"Are you sure that's a good idea doc,"

"Charging, 1, 2, 3"

"We have no choice"

"Pulse is weak, he's going he's going.

"Up the power, charged."

"No, no, NO!"

Out in the waiting room, Ziva now sat there, wringing her hands. It had been half an hour since the bathroom incident, and Ziva could have sworn that she had never felt a longer half an hour in her life. Gibbs next to her was as still as a statue, his eyes not moving from his chosen spot on the wall. It was so still, so quiet, both of them too deep into their own thoughts to even think about what the other one might be thinking. The silence deafened them. That was, until somebody crashed through the doors.

"OMIGOSH!? ARE THEY GOING TO BE ALRIGHT?"

Had Ziva not been so preoccupied worrying about Tony, she would have found something strange about the whole situation. A tall raven haired goth with a youthful radiance about her whizzing through the doors at a record breaking speed, crashing into Gibbs, who opened his arms out to her. Unfortunately, at that moment worry seemed to tinge the hazy aura, as she practically vibrated in fear.

Trailing behind her by a few steps was a young man, with sandy blond hair and deep green eyes. He may not have been as obvious with his feelings, but Ziva could tell that he was equally if not more worried than the girl.

"Hey, Abby," Gibbs said, standing up for the first time and pulling the nervous girl into a hug. Ziva forced herself to look away, even though she was curious as to what the relationship between the two was. It was too much of a father-daughter moment that she felt like she was intruding on by watching. So instead she looked back to the wall she had been studying for the past half an hour.

When the goth finally released Gibbs from her grasp, she fell effortlessly into the other mans arms, and the other man brought his arms around her shoulder in a way that seemed too effortless to just be something between co-workers.

When back in the younger man's arms, the goth seemed to notice Ziva for the first time.

"Gibbs? Who's that?" she asked, in the way a child did when with a person they didn't know. Ziva didn't know how to react to this, was she to pretend that she could not hear her, just like this woman seemed to want her to. Or should she just answer the question like it was addressed to her.

"Abby, this is Z-" Gibbs started.

"Ziva David," Ziva cut him off, "I am Tony's partner."

Abby's eyes widened at the statement, and Ziva felt the overwhelming feeling that she was back at school, on that fateful day that she was the new girl, and she was being stared at and scrutinised like a bug under a microscope. The other man seemed to sense her discomfort and cut in.

"I'm Timothy McGee. Or just Tim," he said, and Ziva smiled at him warmly.

"Pleasure meeting you. Tony has told me a lot about you."

"And yet he has told us nothing about you?" Abby said, still not fully trusting this woman. She didn't like to think of anyone going near her Tony. She was extremely protective of him, him being hurt before and Abby wanting to stop it from anything happening again.

Luckily, neither of them were forced into continuing the conversation, as the doors swiftly opened and the doctor walked in.

"Family of Caitlyn Todd?"

Gibbs could feel his heart pounding in his chest. It felt like that same moment when the bullet was just about to leave the barrel, all the pressure and fear pounding down on him before the final release. He was nervous for Kate, the thought of going a day without her making him sick to his stomach. He had never fully appreciated her constant present, but now the thought of being without her made his forever grateful. That one smile in the morning, and suddenly the dead body did not seem so bad. She was the thing that kept him sane. If he was stuck with only Tony, he would grow sick of his childish antics and probably kill him, and McGee's nervous rambling was tolerable in small doses, but was growing tiring. Kate was the one who kept him grounded and sane, the one who he could always rely on. And these feelings that he had been having, they didn't help the situation either. But at that moment, he was going to push those feelings aside. He would do anything for Kate to be alright, even if that meant crushing his feelings in favour of making her better.

"How is she?" Gibbs finally managed to push out, his voice sounded normal under the circumstances. Ziva was the only one who noticed his pulse fluttering under the skin of his neck.

"She received a bullet to the upper leg muscles. It was a clean shot, with not shards or debris getting in, and I predict a full recovery with minimal scarring if she recovers as predicted.

There was an audible exhalation of air as they all let out a relieved sigh of relief. One down, one to go.

"Can we see her?" Gibbs asked softly, and the doctor nodded.

"One at a time. But don't tire her out."

Gibbs nodded in thanks, and the doctor walked back off down the corridor. Following the doctor he reached the named door, and took a deep breath. He pushed open the door, half expecting the worse, and Kate lying prone on the bed. Unfortunately in some aspects, that wasn't the case.

"GIBBSY!"

He heard the childish squeal, and for a moment he thought that he had walked into the wrong hospital room. But there Kate sat, as clear as the sky is blue, an excited childish expression on her face, and a strange look in her eye. He turned back to the doctor and gave him a curious look.

"The painkillers," the doctor answered, "They'll wear off soon. You are fine to take her home though."

Gibbs was fighting a battle in his mind. He wanted to stay at the hospital to keep an eye on Tony's still uncertain fate. But with Kate apparently as high as a kite, they he wasn't comfortable leaving her with anyone else.

"Come on then," Gibbs said grudgingly and pulled Kate onto the wheelchair that the nurse had been kind enough to leave them. Abby chose that moment to burst into the room in a flurry of worry.

"OHMYGOSHKATE!" she squealed loudly, almost knocking him over and sending the wheelchair and Kate flying. Almost. It was only Gibbs' reflex catching of the wheelchair handles that prevented the mess that seemed inevitable. He sent Abby a stern glare, and taking the unsaid warning Abby took a precautionary step backwards.

"Abby!" Kate said, seemingly oblivious to her near death experience, and still as chirpy as ever.

Abby sent Gibbs a strange look.

"The painkillers," he explained, and Abby nodded in understanding.

"Should I take her home?" Abby asked, and Gibbs was torn. He wanted to take Kate home and wrap her in several layers of cotton wool and Kevlar to prevent Kate being hurt again. He shouldn't have let them go that morning. Realistically, he knew that there was no way that he was to know that the deceased estranged son in law would be mixed up with the wrong people, and be involved in a weapons trade. But it didn't make the feeling of guilt go away. That was the burden of being team leader, the captain of this merry ship of misfits. He had too much responsibility and control, and yet where it mattered he was powerless. Now Kate was as high as a kite, but would be fine in a few weeks, and Tony was still hanging in the metaphorical balance.

It was even worse, the fact that this was his Kate, the woman he had grow to have the strangest feelings for. She made him feel a strange fire and love that he had only ever felt once in his life. He had never thought that he had the capacity to love again, and yet there he was. But there wasn't just the question of his unsavoury past. There was that comment she had made just the other day about that Ari man. That Ari was a lot better looking than he was, even he could see it. And a lot younger.

Some people wouldn't consider ten years to mean anything, not if love prevailed. But It was not there opinion that Gibbs was vying for. It was the wishes of and affections of the one woman. And there she sat, as beautiful as could be, but as high as a kite in a hurricane.

"Gibbs?" Abby asked again, after Gibbs had failed to answer. Gibbs tried to shake himself out of it. Now was not the time to be thinking about his unruly emotions. Now was the time to look after Kate, when she needed him the most.

"What about all those stairs?" he said. He needed a legitimate excuse for going to look after her, and thinking about all those stairs up to her apartment, Gibbs thought that he was the better person for the job.

"Fineeee," Abby said, torn between her desire to help her best girl friend, and her need to know if Tony was going to be OK.

"Give us a ring if you hear anything from Tony," Gibbs ordered, and Abby saluted. Gibbs rolled his eyes, and looked down at Kate who sat there, staring intently out of the window. Gibbs followed her gaze to see what was captivating her attention. He was surprised to see a small squirrel with its cheeks full of berries running along across the tree. Gibbs almost didn't have the heart to ruin such unadulterated joy that was on her face. But he had no choice.

"Come on Kate, let's get out of here," he said gently, as if talking to a child. Kate pulled her gaze away from the window and pouted at him.

"Whyyyyyy?" she said, pulling the word out so it seemed much longer than its one syllable.

Gibbs just pulled the handles of the wheelchair, and before Kate could protest more, he wheeled her out of the room, and along the corridor to the lift.

After Kate pressed the button, (which she insisted on doing, and then squealed in delight when it made a noise), Kate fell strangely silent. Gibbs took it as the drugs beginning to wear off. And then she spoke.

"Gibbs?" she said, in an unsure voice, as if she was frightened that she was about to be told off.

"Yes?" Gibbs replied slowly.

"I love you," she said sleepily.

"I love you too," Gibbs said. All he could do was hope that she remembered that admission when she was back to normal Kate…

It was night-time by the time they got any news. Begin the only people in the waiting room, Ziva nad Abby knew that when the doctor came in, it had to be about Tony.

"Anthony DiNozzo?" the doctor said, and both women stood up in response. They hadn't said anything since the brisk hello, and there was a tension in the room was tangible. Abby clearly didn't trust this woman, and Ziva did not seem to care. All she cared about right then, was Tony.

"How is he?" Ziva asked calmly, and she could almost feel the hostile rays from Abby's eyes. That was her job, and Ziva had just taken it.

"I am unable to lie," the doctor said, and instantly both women braced themselves, "the wounds Mr DiNozzo sustained are extremely extensive. One bullet missed his heart and major arteries by a whisper. The others caused massive blood loss. The next few hours will be crucial in his recovery. I'm sorry I can't give you full answer, but in the morning I can be more certain."

"Thank you, doctor," Ziva said, and the doctor left. Abby was now full force glaring at her. Why did Ziva feel the need to thank the doctor who just delivered new that Tony might not be alright?

"I am going to see him first," Ziva said, not looking at Abby, and before Abby could open her mouth to argue, Ziva had already shot off down the corridor after the doctor.

Abby was furious. She was Tony's little sister, she should be the one who goes to see him first. And now this new girl thinks that she has the right to see him first? But apparently Abby had no choice in the matter. Sighing, Abby flicked open her phone to update Gibbs on Tony's status.

Ziva pushed open the door of the hospital room, and her eyes swam with tears. There he was, just lying there. She wanted to pretend that this was all pretend, that he was going to jump out of that bed, call it a prank and mock her for actually believing he was hurt. She could practically feel his arms go around her as he wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall, calling her silly all that time. She moved to the other side of the bed to the conveniently placed chair, and sat down. Still nothing. She slipped his cold hand into hers, and the fact that he didn't squeeze back sent her over the edge. The tears started falling, and when they started they couldn't stop. He had to make it, she didn't know what she would do without him. She had never really appreciated what all those little texts and moments meant until she thought of the fact that they may never share a moment like that again. She had never thought of him as such a big part of her life, and now with the thought of him not being there made her think that life wouldn't be worth it if he was not there. It such a small time he had become her everything. He had to be alright. He had to.

As the tears spilled down her face, she was too preoccupied to notice Abby standing at the door. If she had questioned Ziva's motives, she could now see them, as clear as day. Ziva loved Tony. And Ziva couldn't live without him.

* * *

**_Kari fans please dont hate me! *ducks flying projectiles_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_well arent you guys lucky, two chapters in one week! :P :D_**

**_i forgot to mention this earlier, but i am not a dancer. nor am i a doctor. so i am extremely sorry if i get any technical things wrong, and i would really appreciate if someone point them out to me, so i can expand my knowledge and the accuracy of the story? _**

**_anyways... enjoy! :)_**

**_DISCLAIMER: not my characters :(_**

* * *

Chapter 7

Gibbs pushed open the door to Kate's apartment, carrying Kate in with one arm and his go bag slung over the other shoulder. It was the strangest thing, it was only in his wildest dreams did he imaging carrying her over the threshold. But in his dreams, he wasn't so tired and drained emotionally and physically, and she hadn't passed out in the car journey because of the drugs which had made behave like a crazy kid.

He tried to flick on a light, but couldn't quite keep the balance without running the risk of overturning them both. Feeling around in the dark, he stumbled around the corner and into what he assumed was the living room. As his eyes became accustomed to the light, he saw the outline of what he believed was the sofa. He gently put her down, but Kate was so out of it that she didn't even stir. She was so still, that the only thing that indicated life was the gentle rise and fall of her chest.

Gibbs felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and picked it up before it could burst into song.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Emmm... Hey Gibbs," the voice at the other end of the phone said. Abby. And judging by the tears in her voice, it wasn't good news.

"How is he?" Gibbs said, heading out of the room and into the kitchen. He flicked on the light and leaned against the counter. He was surprised to see what a mess the kitchen was. He would have thought that a person like Kate would keep her apartment immaculate. But either he was wrong, or Kate had been in a hurry that morning. He could see mugs of tea of various types and at different stages of ageing lined up in rows. And there was practically a whole battalion there.

"The doctor said there was extensive blood loss, the next few hours will be critical," Abby said, and Gibbs could hear the first few tears fall and her voice crack. Gibbs tipped his head back, suddenly feeling very old and very tired. Tony was like his son. Gibbs may give him a hard time, and get tired of his childish behaviour, but they went back a long way. It was Gibbs who saw the potential in Tony, Gibbs who trained him. And like a father, he was so proud of how far Tony had come. Professionally, he had made the transition between being a street cop to being an investigator. Even some who went the whole way through FLETC didn't survive the real world. And Tony had not only done it, he had done it will immense skill. Tony's gut was good, and he was brilliant at it. It would not have been guessed, if someone had looked at their relationship. And Gibbs had always assumed that he knew. But now, he questioned it. Maybe now he had not said anything, he never would. And Tony may have come far, but he had so much further to go. His story was just beginning. It couldn't end now.

"Gibbs?" Abby said at the other end of the phone, unsure of his sudden silence.

"Yeah, Abbs?" he said pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What," she started but had to stop to control her voice, "what if he doesn't make it?"

Gibbs did not know what to tell her. It was like that stage in life when your little girl starts to ask why. Why did he have to go off to war, why was there suffering in the world. The answers that he wanted to answer but couldn't.

"Are you with him now?" Gibbs said, subtly changing the subject.

"No, that Ziva girl is with him," Abby said bitterly. Gibbs could tell that Abby didn't like Ziva. But having witnessed Ziva's breakdown over Tony's wellbeing, Gibbs had to set the record straight.

"Abby, why do you not like her?"  
"Gibbs, we don't know who she is, or why she is with Tony. Aren't you just a little bit suspicious?" Abby said, and Gibbs had to agree with her reasoning. At first, he may have questioned Ziva's motives, but he had learnt there was more to Ziva than met the eye.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Gibbs suggested, and Abby started to grumble about something. Gibbs heard a groan coming from the other room.

"I have to go, call me to update me later?" Gibbs said, and he didn't wait for an answer before he hung up.

Gibbs slipped the phone back into his pocket, and walked back into the living room. Kate was slowly coming round, groaning in pain as she did. Her eyes were scrunched closed, and her hair was sticking up at strange angles, making her look like a disgruntled cat.

"Hey," Gibbs said softly, and Kate's eyes flew open. She ran her hair self consciously when she noticed Gibbs presence, but Gibbs didn't care about her hair. He cared about her.

"How are you feeling?" Gibbs said softly, and if Kate hadn't been in so much pain, she would have been startled by Gibbs. She could recall him having said so much to her in one go before.

"Like I've been shot in the leg," Kate grumbled, trying to sit up. And then she realised where she was, "how did I get home?"

"Car," Gibbs said, but didn't expand, and Kate let it go.

"You need to go to bed," Gibbs said.

"That sounds like something Tony would say," Kate said stretching. She stopped mid stretch, "Tony!"

Gibb knew that he would have to tell her at some point, so took the principle that doing it fast would be better in the long run.

"He's out of it, and they don't know if he will make it."

Kate stared at him in shock for a moment.

"No, that's not possible…" Kate began to deny. She began looking around frantically, trying to look for anything that would help her get up and to him, "I have to be with him."

"No." Gibbs said firmly, and Kate was about to argue when he continued, "Sleep now. We can go see him tomorrow."

Abby had just hung up the phone, and pushed open the door of the room. But she stopped in her tracks when she way the scene in front of her.

Ziva sat there, tears pouring down her face, her shoulders shaking as she buried her head in their joint hands. If Abby thought that Ziva looked a little bit too put together when they had first received the news, this was a completely different story. Abby felt the tears catch in her own throat as she watched the scene.

Abby took another step into the room, and Ziva froze. She must have sensed something in the air, or heard the sound of Abby's boots hit the lino flooring. Ziva's head snapped up, and when she saw that it was Abby, she savagely wiped the tears away from her face. She stood up abruptly, still not letting go of Tony's hand.

"I will leave you with him," she said hurriedly, but despite her words Abby noticed that she was still caressing the back of Tony's hand with the pad of her thumb. Her words told her that she was going, but her actions showed anything but.

Ziva continued to wipe the tears away with her free hand, and yet they still continued to fall past her fingers.

"You can stay. If you want… that is," Abby said, her voice lower now as she too tried to keep the tears in her eyes.

Ziva nodded in acknowledgement, sitting back down, and Abby sat on the other side of the bed. And it was in that moment where the first bridge was built, and the seeds of a friendship were planted.

oooOOOooo

The first thing that Kate noticed when she woke up was the pain. It throbbed through her left leg, travelling and leaving great welts of fire down it. This hadn't been the first time that she had got shot, and she sincerely hoped that it was the last time. It wasn't a pleasant experience, and that was the understatement of her life.

There was a soft knock and the bed room door, and had she not been stranded on the bed, she would have got up to get it. But unfortunately, she was. Without warning, the door swung open, and Gibbs stood there awkwardly trying to balance a tray of food in his arms.

"Gibbs!" she said, looking surprised. She hadn't remembered him being in her apartment. And then it all came flooding back to her. All of it.

"Shit…"

Gibbs looked up in alarm at her noise. It was an "I'm in pain noise", but after a quick assessment, he diagnosed that Kate was not in any physical discomfort, and he was good to proceed.

Where Kate thought the tray was full of food, she was proved wrong. Balanced on the tray was a mug of coffee, a tall glass of water and a multitude of colourful tablets, and dry toast.

"Wow Gibbs, you sure no how to treat a woman," Kate said sarcastically, and Gibbs smiled, glad to see that her dry wit was still intact.

"Pills for the pain, toast for nausea," he explained. He didn't explain that he only learnt that little trick from when Shannon was pregnant and suffering from a violent bout of morning sickness.

Without complaining Kate took the tablets and them the coffee in quick succession.

"Can we go visit Tony?" Kate said, while munching the dry toast. It tasted disgusting. But it was staying in her stomach, and chewing gave her something to do.

Gibbs sighed knowing that even if he wanted Kate to stay in bed and rest, it was never going to happen. Kate was one of those fiery spirits, who would not listen to her even if he tied her to the bed and prevented her from moving… he stopped that thought right there. Kate had just been shot in the leg, and he was having those kind of thought about her?

"I need a shower…" she said, putting the tray to one side and pushing the sheets off her body. And then she encountered her problem.

"Here, let me…" Gibbs tried to help, but Kate was faster.

"I've got this!" she said stubbornly pushed herself off the bed. She swung her legs over the side, but had to stop as the pain became too much.

It was at this moment when Gibbs knew he had to intervene. He gently but forcibly pushed her back onto the bed. Wordlessly he left the room and walked into the ensuite bathroom, where he put on the plug and turned on the hot and cold taps. He walked out into the bedroom and Kate looked back at him unimpressed. But Gibbs shot her back an equally unimpressed expression, as if to say "how were you planning to do that?" and Kate had to admit, he had a point. Unfortunately.

Five minutes, and a lot of awkward carrying later Kate found herself in the bathroom. She leant over to test the water temperature, and she was surprised to find it at exactly the perfect temperature. She shook her head smiling. Only Gibbs…

Ziva jolted awake looking wildly around before remembering exactly where she was. Tony's hand still lay in hers, and she prised her fingers away from his clammy hand. She brought her arms up behind her head and heard her body crack and strain in protest. She twisted her neck round one way, then the other. When she twisted, she caught sight of Abby out of the corner of her eye.

"Hi," Ziva said falsely, and stood up. Abby watched transfixed as Ziva leaned down to stretch, touching the floor with the backs of her hands, then straightening up before leaning back and leaning back until she almost touched the floor in a crab. She straightened up again and pulled her hand across her body, as if preparing herself for some complicated dance.

Abby stood there awkwardly while all this was happening, and Ziva sensed this.

"Was there something you wanted?"

"I'm going to grab some breakfast, I was wondering if you wanted anything?" Abby asked.

"I'll come with you," Ziva said, and the two of them led off down to the cafeteria.

They joined the queue of nurses and visiting relatives at the breakfast bar, and working in silence among the hustle and noise they picked up their food. After paying up, the returned to Tony's room, and sat on the chairs either side of Tony's bed and dug in.

"So, how did you and Tony meet?" Abby said, forking a strawberry onto her plastic cutlery.

"Well…" Ziva said swallowing, "there was a case that brought him to my studio. A-" but she was cut off.

"The case the other weekend at David School of Dance?"

Ziva nodded.

"So _you _are Ziva _David_ the owner of the David School of Dance?" Abby said disbelieving.

Ziva tilted her head to one side with a curious expression on her face, trying to work out whether this was a good thing that Abby recognised the name.

"I read up about that place somewhere. Is it true that you opened the studio when you were aged 16?"

"Yes," Ziva answered for the first time, and took a big bite out of her breakfast burrito so cover her awkwardness.

"You are a legend! You started own started your business out from nothing, and now it is one of the most renowned studios that the world has even seen!" Abby said excitedly, now fully star struck.

Ziva just nodded, but she didn't want to expand on what Abby had already said. Firstly because it was strange hearing such high praise, and secondly because she did not want to tell Abby about how desperately she wanted that place. She did not want to tell her about how many times she had wanted to give up, because she was struggling to get by, with little in the way of any possessions, and a family that she did not want to burden. She did not want to tell her about every single time she had lied to her baby sister, telling her that everything was fine, when she hadn't eaten for days.

Abby seemed to sense Ziva's discomfort. "You were saying about Tony?"

"Yes Tony," Ziva said, glad to be changing the subject, "well, he just kept coming back."

"And so now you two are dating?" Abby asked.

"No," Ziva was quick to correct her, "We're just friends."

Abby was shocked at this answer. From what she saw the other day, Ziva leant over Tony's prone body bawling her eyes out, they seemed as good as married. And yet, here was Ziva saying that they weren't even together?  
"Why not?" Abby asked, and Ziva didn't have an answer for her. They had always made a conscience effort to take things slow, and when Ziva learnt about his long string of mistakes (aka, ex-girlfriends) she could not agree more with him. But now with this unpleasant wakeup call, she had to tell him that she felt something. That was, if he woke up. she would never be able to forgive herself if she was too late, and she didn't have the time to tell him. She would probably follow him into the next world if that was to happen.

Ziva was about to open her mouth to say something, when there was a strangled croak from between the two of them, and both of them abandoned their breakfasts when they saw Tony's eyes flicker open.

"TONY!"

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**_another (sort of) cliffy! but this is a nicer one :) reviews?_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_Hello my marshwiggles!_**

**_so.. people don't kill me, I know this whole putting Tony in a coma is dragging on... but please dont kill me! :(_**

**_thank you for all the lovely reviews! 81 reviews! as in 81 times someone has bothered to read my work AND tell me that they enjoy it! :D THAT'S CRAZY! :D_**

**_DISCLAIMER: disclaimed!_**

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Chapter 8

Ziva was the first one to get over the shock.

"Abby! GO GET A DOCTOR!" she shouted sharply, and Abby was too busy being worried to be offended by Ziva's sharp words.

As Abby ran out as fast as her three inch platform boots would allow her, Ziva frantically pushed the call button, over and over again, jabbing hard at it until her thumb hurt. Initially she had been thrilled to see that Tony was showing signs of life, but now, she could see that something was not quite right. His body was convulsing violently, his arms flailing to ward off an invisible attacker. Ziva grabbed one of his flailing hands, afraid that he was going to hurt himself by striking something at the speed his arms were going at, and his eyes shot open. But nothing seemed to be registering, as he stared blankly at the ceiling through a bloodshot haze. The dark clover eyes which had once danced with life now were dark and lifeless, and Ziva had never seen anything more terrifying in her life. The hand that Ziva had grabbed had somehow been twisted as she was busy staring into his eyes, so now he was the one who held her in a grip so tight that she would feel the bones of her hands press together and grind against each other in protest. The veins on his neck jutted out so prominently that Ziva no longer recognised that man she saw in front of her. And still Tony seemed to see nothing.

Just as she felt something in her hand crack, a doctor ran into the room. Ziva tried to free her hand so she could move out of the way of the doctor and nurse, but to no avail. The doctor shone a torch into Tony's bloodshot eyes, and began to talk to him slowly and calmly.

"Mr DiNozzo, you are at Bethesda Naval Hospital, on floor 5, room 306. Do you understand?"

There was no response from Tony, just more erratic shaking and twisting in the bed sheets. Ziva's hand began to throb under the pressure, as her body tried to pump blood back into her unresponsive limb. Seeing this lack of response, the doctor turned to his nurse.

"We need some kind of Benzodiazepine, to be administered through the IV," he spoke quickly and urgently, and the blond nurse hurried out of the room in search of the required drugs.

"Mr DiNozzo," the doctor said, turning back to Tony once more, "I know you can hear me, and I wanted to let you know we're giving you something to make you a little more relaxed. We would also appreciate it if you let go of your wife's hand."

Ziva was in too much pain to argue with the doctor's presumption that she was in fact Mrs DiNozzo. Abby would see the concentration on her face stopping her from screaming in pain.

The small nurse rushed back into the room with a small vial of some drug (Abby later learnt it was pentobarbital), which she injected straight into Tony's IV. The room watched with baited breath, trying to determine when the sedative would come into effect.

It was the longest moments of Ziva's life, as she waited for the drugs for take effect. Slowly Tony's eyes began to flutter shut, and his grip on Ziva's hand became slack.

There was a silence in the room, as all parties regained their breath. After a long tense moment, the doctor was the first one to speak.

"You should go get that checked out. Let me take you to radiology."

Ziva couldn't argue with the doctor, so she stood up. She could no longer feel her hand, but she didn't know whether to be thankful for this or scared.

Abby half expected Ziva to argue, not say what she did next.

"I would appreciate that."

The doctor led Ziva out of the room and along the corridor. Their shoes made no sound as they hit the soft hospital flooring and neither of them did anything to fill the silence around them. It was eerily quiet, the hustle and bustle going on floors beneath them seemed to have been absorbed into the bright white walls until there was nothing but silence.

The doctor called up the lift, and as he leant over Ziva caught sight of his name tag. Dr Lawson. It was nice to put a name to the face of the man who had helped Tony. She shook her head and within moments the two of them were stepping in and the doors were closing on them.

"What was that?" Ziva said softly. Tony had scared her. One moment the only sign of life that he gave was the rising and falling of his chest, the next moment he was thrashing around and breaking hands.

The doctor did not have to guess what she was referring to.

"The most likely explanation is that he was experiencing some kind of night terror," the doctor replied.

"Is it hurting him?"

Dr Lawson found this question strange, but he did not show it. Here was a woman, whose hand had just been broken by her own husband, and _she _was asking whether _he _was hurting?

"Your husband i-" he was cut off by Ziva.

"He's not… he's… he's just a friend," Ziva hastily corrected, but not knowing herself what to categorise her relationship was with Tony. They were definitely more than friends, but dating seemed a childish way to put it, making what they had sound trivial and as temperamental as a breath in the wind.

"The science of the brain is a complex thing," Dr Lawson continued, not commenting on what she just said, "some coma patients experience nothing. It's like their sleeping, and when they wake up it is like no time has passed. All the stress is left to the family."

Ziva could tell that she was getting the glossed over version, that there was something that Dr Lawson was no telling her. So she did something unknown to American culture. She ignored all the rules of elevator etiquette, and turned away from the door, and to the doctor.

He could sense Ziva's eyes on him, and to that, he sighed deeply. Taking his glasses off, he wiped them with the bottom of his lab coat, biding his time before he had to answer Ziva's unasked question.

"But," he said, and now seeing that she was choosing to ignore the unspoken rules of elevator travel, turning to face her, "some people, in the rarest occasions dream so vividly, but can't escape them."

Ziva took a moment to digest this. With Tony's job, there was no doubt that he had seen some horrifying things, especially in his time with NCIS. She couldn't imagine what he was escaping from in his nightmares.

Abby was freaking out.

Pacing the room desperately, her gaze continued to return back to Tony's prone form. She was a scientist. She could tell you the chemicals in the brain that has caused Tony's meltdown. She could approximate how long Tony's episode lasted for, and work out how milliseconds and what fraction of an hour that would equate to. And yet she was terrified. Now Ziva had gone to get her hand fixed, who Tony, Tony, the huge goofball, had broken, she was left alone with her thoughts and fears. She sat down with a thud by the bed, but this time she didn't put her hand out to take Tony's

"Hey Tony," Abby started, but was cut off by a sound coming from the empty hallway. That apparently was no empty any more.

"I told you, I can walk with crutches! Fine then, ignore me!"

Abby turned to see a very irritated Kate being pushed into the room somewhat hastily by an aggravated Gibbs. Immediately Abby sided with Kate, not knowing the circumstances, but still glaring at Gibbs.

"What!" Gibbs said indignantly.

"What did you do?" Abby asked.

"What did _I _do?" Gibbs asked. Abby said nothing, and Gibbs decided to change the subject.

"Where is Ziva?" Gibbs asked.

"_Who's_ Ziva?" Kate asked. She was only out for a few moments, and she was so behind. And Gibbs hadn't felt the need to update her? Typical.

"Tony and her have a thing. I didn't know who she was until yesterday," and then something struck her, "but _you," _she said looking at Gibbs, "brought her. How do you know her?"

Gibbs sighed. That was a story…

_2 Weeks Ago_

"_I'm at work now, chasing up a lead in the big bad suburbs of Washington… I'm not being a baby!... yeah whatever, listen, I have to go. Gibbs is giving me evils, and soon lightning bolts are going to be shooting at me. OK, I will. Later. Bye!"_

_From the one side of the conversation, Gibbs couldn't tell much about whoever Tony was on the phone to. All he knew was that they made Tony's face light up like a Christmas tree when he spotted her caller ID, and that he had been talking to them for the past half an hour. The unfortunate thing was that Gibbs had spent that half an hour in the car with Tony, and now as they pulled up to the suspects house he needed his senior field agent back. _

"_Ziva wants me to tell you, and I quote, "don't let him do anything stupid"," Tony said to Gibbs as they got out of the car and slammed the car doors behind them._

"_You get married and not tell me?" Gibbs said deadpan. He remembered other day when he caught Tony running a background check on the woman. But he just thought that it was to do with the case, or just a passing interest in a pretty girl. He didn't know that one month on they were still in contact. _

"_Ziva is a friend," Tony said, pulling her phone out, and swiping to find a picture of her, "that's her, right there."_

_Gibbs took the phone from Tony and holding it at arm's length, he tilted his head to one side to try and make out the picture better. As the photo came into focus, he saw Tony with his arm slung around the shoulders of a Middle Eastern beauty. He vaguely remembered seeing a photo of her when Tony was running a background check, but now he took a proper look at her. She was defiantly beautiful, but not in the way that Tony went for. There was not a bleach blond tip or dark root in sight. Instead, she had a sweet heart shaped face with deep brown eyes. In that moment, those eyes were lit up in laughter as the Tony in the photo whispered something in her ear. Ziva wore a strappy golden vest top, and the strange thing was that Tony was not checking her out in his usual "leering at the hot chick" way. Instead, he had that look in his eye that he was worshipping her, like she was an angel walking on the earth. _

_Or it was all a trick of the light. _

"_Good friend," Gibbs said casually, knowing that there was something more to it, yet not pushing Tony to say anything. _

_Tony sighed a deep sigh, "yeah.. a really good friend."_

"_But, you want more," Gibbs stated simply. _

"_It's not that simple."_

_Silence. _

"_Well… I don't want to stuff up boss," Tony said finally. But then he couldn't help but add, "like you."_

_Gibbs naturally greeted that statement with a solid head slap, and the issue wasn't spoken off again. _

oooOOOooo

An hour later Abby was called back into work to solidify the evidence that would put the people who did this to Tony. Local LEOs, who had been first at the scene had taken the case, and with the help of Abby and some forensic work and McGee's superior computer skills, they were now working to track down the men involved. McGee had not left the office since, determined to find the people who dared hurt _his _team. And now Abby had to head back to the office too. Which also meant leaving Tony's side for the first time since the accident. She did not want to, but she was fuelled by the same passion that Timmy had, and was going to find those people. She just wished she could monitor Tony at the same time.

Soon after Abby's speedy exit, her theory being the faster she went the sooner she could get back, fatigue overran Kate's adrenalin, and the toll of the previous days and the gunshot wound began to pile up, and Gibbs had eventually dragged her back off to his house. Gibbs was reluctant to leave Ziva alone, especially after Abby recounted what had happened that morning with her hand. But Ziva was stubborn and loyal, and Gibbs respected that. He promised to pop by later that evening with dinner, which Ziva graciously thanked him for. She hadn't thought much about eating, there being much more important things on her mind. Tim had dropped in for literally a moment to see Tony, but had to run back to the office to go help Abby and catch those bastards. And then there was one.

Ziva sat there by Tony's bed, having refused everyone's offers to take her home. She had to be there. Even if he woke up and had another incident, she would not leave him.

Ziva could feel her eyelids get heavy when she heard something.

"Ziva?"

Ziva watched as Tony's eyes flutter open, and for a moment her voice caught in her throat and her eyes pricked with the promise that tears were going to fall.

"Ziva?" Tony's hoarse voice asked, but he was taken over by a coughing fit as he fought with the ventilator.

"Hey," Ziva said softly, immediately standing up, "you're going to have to breathe out as I take this out, OK?"

Tony nodded through the rasping breaths.

"OK, 1…2…3…" and she pulled the breathing tube out of his mouth. She was by his mouth with a cup of water in seconds, letting the fluid drip down into his throat slowly to sooth it. When his breathing returned to normal, she sat back down to press the call button with her now wrapped up hand.

"What… happened?" he said weakly, looking down at her hand with the movement.

"It's nothing," she said quickly, "how are you feeling?"  
"I… I," he started saying, but she could see his eyes grow heavy once again.

"It's OK, Anthony, just sleep," Ziva said, reaching over and sitting on the side of his bed. She took his hand into her broken one, and the other one came to stroke his hair gently. Leaning over, she pressed a soft kiss on the arc of his brow as he slept.

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**_i would love it if you reviewed, if you have taken the time to read this far, and you're still here! and reading this. :D please tell me if the "Tony hospitalized" thing is getting old... thankyou! :D_**


	9. Chapter 9

**_Heyheyhey!_**

**_AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! 90 REVIEWS! THAT'S ALMOST 100! :O_**

**_this is seriously the best response i have ever got from a story... it's amazing! you people are awsome!_**  
**_sorry that this chapter is so short... but i wanted to get something out as a "thank you" present for all you amazing people :)_**

**_enjoy!_**

**_disclaimer: stilll not mine._**

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Chapter 9

Dr Lawson walked in briskly at the call. He expected a similar scene as he had last time he was there, with Tony suffering from some kind of nightmare. He didn't, however, expect to see Tony sleeping peacefully, with the woman, Ziva, sitting up on the bed with him.

"You called?"

Ziva turned to him and smiled a bright smile, despite the dark circles that plagued the bottom of her eyes. This woman was clearly in love with this man. She was keeping nightly vigils by his bedside, and he had not seen her leave his side since arriving. And yet she had been quick to correct his assumption that she was not anything to Tony. If he was a matchmaker, he would be working to get the two of them together. But, he was a doctor. And right now, a doctor would be more useful to them, so he thought.

"He woke up!" she said smiling. And that was when he noticed the tube from the ventilator lying on the bed.

"Did _you_ take that out?" he said alarmed. Those things could do a lot of damage when placed in the wrong or inexperienced hands.

"Yes."

"How?"

"Told him to breath out, and extracted the tube on the count of three," Ziva said without hesitation. The doctor had to admit, he was impressed with her medical knowledge, but he could not let this one slide. He had seen enough mistake being made when people thought they knew what they were doing because they saw it on the television, and then proceeded to do it on their injured loved ones, and ending up doing more harm than good.

"Even if you do have the knowledge, which you clearly do, maybe wait for a doctor next time?"  
Ziva did not argue, but in her mind she knew that she would do the same thing again thing again in a heartbeat. Tony was in pain, and she rectified the situation. In her eyes, there was nothing wrong with doing that. So therefore, there was not a regret. She knew what she was doing, and she was not going to let her loved ones suffer.

The doctor made his way out, and as Ziva followed his motion out of the open door she noticed three other figures standing out there.

Gibbs walked in first.

"Found them in the lobby. Figured they were with you?" Gibbs grumbled. He clearly wasn't in a good mood, whether that was because of the unseasonably cold weather, or the fact that someone had shot his senior field agent, and his probationary field agent and forensic scientist seemed to not be getting anywhere with the case.

The drug and weapons trade that Tony and Kate had stumbled upon left a whole new Pandora's box open for the NCIS team. Now it wasn't just the case of the dead officer, which had been given over to Crewer's team. It was uncovered that the drugs they tacked to be from a shady deal between a business man and a supermarket executive, who had claimed that they received the drugs by post, which had been traced back to a cartel that had bought them off an illegal company south of the border, who bought them off… and that's where they lost it. There was no way of tracking the goods, and the crossing of the border meant that the rest of the alphabet soup were hounding them to take the case. Gibbs of course refused, so they had something to prove from the success of the case. Unfortunately, success was not in sight.

As soon as Gibbs spoke Ziva stood up. Which was a good thing, seeing as a few moments later she found the second figure in her arms.

"ZIVA!"

"Hello Tali," Ziva said chuckling to herself. She had wondered about how long it would be until her little sister made an appearance, closely followed by her other sibling.

Ari stood behind rolling his eyes and Tali's enthusiasm. Despite the fact that Tali was twenty-three, she still acted like a five year old when around her siblings. She was the baby of the family, and seemed to take her occupation very seriously. Hence, the childishness.

When Tali finally released Ziva, Ziva found herself in Ari's arms instead. Ari was like her father, in every sense other than the biological. He had looked after her from a young age, and now in his arms Ziva felt like she was five again, and her big brother could do anything and would do anything for her.

Gibbs stood awkwardly staring out of the window next to Ziva's head, trying his hardest not to intrude on the moment. It was strange how he was visiting _his_ colleague who had just been shot, and yet he was the one scared to intrude. Tali and Ari had made themselves right at home, and knew exactly what they were there for, and where they were going. Having said that, it had not been the case a few minutes ago…

_5 minutes ago._

"_Ari! Where are we going?" _

_Gibbs pushed open the translucent door to the entrance of the hospital, one hand holding a bag full of take out, the other buried into his jacket pocket against the howling autumn winds. The temperature had dropped rapidly throughout the day, before hitting an all time low of the season. The gritters had been out on the roads, so the traffic was slow, and by the time Gibbs reached the hospital he was cold and annoyed. _

_As he entered the building, his gaze was immediately drawn to the scene in front of him. Two people, a young woman and a man were in reception, both seemingly frustrated with the receptionist. _

"_I would love to tell you where we are going, Tali, but **someone** is withholding information," the man said, turning to glare at the receptionist while still talking to the girl. The petit brunette receptionist seemed terrified of the man in front of her and the icy glare that he was shooting her way. And then it clicked. Gibbs remembered where he had seen these people before. _

"_Tali? Ari?" he asked. These were the people who had appeared on the plasma, back when Tony was stalking… or running a background check on Ziva. The picture had been old, but the girl and the boy from the photo were defiantly recognisable. _

_All three figures turned to stare at him, Tali and the receptionist looking relieved, and Ari looking guarded. _

"_Who are you?" he said suspiciously. _

"_Special Agent Gibbs," Gibbs said tightly, and Tali grinned. _

"_Do you know where Ziva is?" Tali asked, and Gibbs could not help but smile at her. Tali had a childish zest that reminded him so much of Abby. If Abby and Tali met, he would be certain that they would get on like a house on fire. And then proceed to set a house on fire. But of course, they would get away with it, because with Gibbs Abby could get away with anything. And Gibbs sensed that Tali also had Ari wrapped around her little finger. _

_Gibbs motioned towards the elevator, and the strange band moved towards the elevator and off to see Ziva._

Present

When Ziva was released from Ari's arms, Gibbs felt the need to add something to the conversation. Holding up the bag of takeout in his hand, spoke.

"Shall we?"

They sat on the hospital floor, enough food laid out to feed the five thousand. Gibbs' experience as being both a father and a team leader meant that he knew that they could never have too much food. Too little on the other hand would lead to a grouchy child. Or a grouchy team of agents. He couldn't figure out which one was worse. With this theory, he had bought practically the entirety of the menu, and when the young check out man had asked if he wanted that to eat in, Gibbs just gave him a look. Did it look like he could eat all of that food?

"So how is he?" Ari cut into the conversation, and Ziva's eyes lit up.

"He woke up, and the doctor said that he should be OK," Ziva said relieved, and Gibbs sighed in relief. Now the questions and doubts in his mind were fading away. He would have the opportunity to tell Tony how proud he was. No more regrets.

Gibbs moved out of the room to call the team about the progress in Tony's condition, but the conversation in the room continued without him. Ziva listened attentively to Tali as she talked at lightning speed about the studio and all the students. Tali taught there whenever she could, having been taught by the best (the best being Ziva, aged 16), and she was well loved by the rest of the teachers and the pupils. She was as immature as the kids, so fit right in with them, and would also flirt with the older male dancers. It kept them on their toes, all wanting to impress her. But Tali was not easily impressed, and when they looked to her for praise she would find faults in all that they did, and then proceed to execute whatever it was that they were attempting with poise and perfection. Sometimes when Ziva wasn't working she would watch the interactions form the doorway with an amused eye, but whenever Tali turned to hear her unsaid opinion, Ziva would pretend to look disapprovingly at her. But Tali did manage to spark a competitiveness in the guys, and suddenly they all redoubled their efforts in attempt to impress their teacher. Their young, pretty teacher. By the end of the lesson, a few would gain a "very good" from her, and as she walked off Ziva could see the lingering gazes Tali got. At first, Ziva had thought that Tali was oblivious to the effect that she had on them, but when Tali sent a cheeky wink to one of the guys, Ziva learned better. Apparently her baby sister was growing up. And she did not know how to take this.

Gibbs slipped calmly back into the room after hanging up the phone for the last time. The responses of Abby, McGee and Ducky had been expected. But he did not think that Kate would be as relieved as she was to hear that Tony was OK. It was strange, Tony and Kate fought like brother and sister on a good day, but clearly they cared for each other more than they would admit

Ari calmly ate next to Tali, the contrast in their demeanours as clear as day. Where Tali was life and hand gestures, Air seemed to radiate a soothing aura. Gibbs did not doubt the man's integrity, but somehow he could not bring himself to like the man. Gibbs did not forget the fact that Kate had commented that Ari was "handsome" when he had come for an interview with legal. That topped with the fact that Gibb's gut was churning at the sight of him made him dislike the man. It was as if Gibbs' sixth sense was tingling, like he knew that in another life they would probably be trying to kill each other.

Ari caught Gibbs staring and rolled his eyes as he motioned at the sisters. Gibbs smiled a crooked half smile, but there was nothing in his eyes that spoke of any kind of happiness. Ari seemed to understand this, so turned away to face the girls.

Tali had now moved on to talking about her band and the antics of all the boys. When Ziva had first heard about Tali joining a band, she could not think of a more impractical thing she could be doing. Yes, Tali sang like an angel, but there was no way Tali could get money from it. The only other job that Tali worked was working part time in for a bunch of charities, and while it was a noble and kind and totally Tali thing to do, it wasn't exactly the most practical employment of her time. But, so long as she was having fun and she still had Ziva to stay with, Ziva was not going to make her stop. That and the fact their brother was far too generous when it came to money meant Tali got by.

There was a spluttering cough from the bed, and Ziva shot up faster than any of the people had seen her move before. As she reached the bed Tony's eye lids flickered open and a hoarse voice emerged from his lips.

"Ziva?"

"Hey there," Ziva said softly, and Tali and Ari shot each other a look. Ziva was rarely this affectionate around people, even their family. And yet this man seemed to evoke this affection. Who was this man?

Ziva moved to take his hand to be taken in hers, but then she grew aware of the other presences in the room and their inquisitive gazes all fixed on her. So she did not take his hand, but instead chose to continue with her enquiry.

"How are you?"

"Who are you?" Tony winced, and Ziva's eyes widened in shock. Surely… he couldn't have…

"Just kidding. Hey Ziva," Tony said, groaning as he tried to push himself up into sitting position.

Ziva's heart began to return to normal rate after that sentence. But that did not mean that she was finished with him. Now the initial panic was addressed, Ziva had time to feel every other emotion that had gone through her since she heard the news. Starting with anger.

"Why did you go get shot for!" Ziva said.

"You can't be mean to an invalid. I feel like I've been shot."

"You think your funny, don't you?" Ziva shot back.

"Are you being mean? You're being mean. I'm going to go find a nice hot nurse who is going to be nicer to me."

"And how do you plan on doing that!"

It was at this moment that Gibbs thought to intervene. He moved to stand next to the bed, and as soon as Tony caught sight of Gibbs in his peripheral vision he visibly straightened up. A good solider standing to attention at his commanding officer's call.

"Boss."

"Tony."

Tony's eyebrows shot up at this. Gibbs never called him Tony. It was always DiNozzo, normally accompanied by a head slap, or said with "boy, am I pissed off at you" tone. Tony was a whole new story. And Tony was not certain why, but there was something nice about being called Tony. By the infamous Leroy Jethro Gibbs, of all people.

Tony's eyes began to droop, and Gibbs could see Tony trying to stay awake. His slinging match with Ziva clearly was taking his toll on him, and no matter how much he pretended to be fine, he had still just been shot. And no matter how much they all pretended, being shot hurt like a bitch. But still Gibbs smiled. Always the loyal one, not wanting to fall asleep when the boss was talking to him.

"Get some sleep," Gibbs ordered, and Tony's eyes fluttered shut.

Gibbs paused for a moment, partly hesitating over what to say, and partly to make sure that Tony was asleep. And then he spoke.

"Night, son."

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**_can we get this thing to 100 reviews? ;D reviews seriously make my day :)_**


	10. Chapter 10

_**GAHHHHHHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! 100 REVIEWS! :D :D**_

_**I AM AMAZED! like, seriously, you guys are bothering to review little old me, and not only that, tell me that you liked it! :D i am FOREVER thankful, seriously.**_  
_**this chapter i dedicate to tivaandmcabby (my 100th reviewer ;D), TheRoseShadow21, guest, SilverStella, EowynGoldberry, Yadoonkeanjaani (sorry for freaking you out :P and to answer your question, no, Ari is going to be a good guy :)), LivyRox, Robern, bdn1313, lumza, ana, guest, tenahi, route56 (awesome name!), ilovencis3214, NCISNumber1Fan, neon-death and EVERYONE who is reading this right now! :D**_

_**i thought i would do you a little present for the 100 reviews... ;D**_

_**disclaimer: disclaimed**_

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Chapter 10

Today was the day. The day that Tony was finally being discharged, after what seemed like a lifetime. No-one had ever seen him complaining so much about spending extended periods of time in bed, but he seemed to be defying all expectations and being the worst patient ever, almost rivalling Gibbs after he had been blown up. But they had to admit, Tony had been there for quite some time, and everyone had a breaking point. In the time that he'd been laying there doing nothing the case had been opened and closed, murderers and drug dealer had been caught after a less that above board methods employed by Gibbs and life had gone on. That was, for everyone apart from Tony. Until today.

Everyone was feeling something. It was impossible not to. Abby was a nervous wreck, back in the confines of her lab where Gibbs had insisted she stay to continue with her work for another team. Ziva was also a nervous wreck, standing by the hospital bed. But she didn't show it. And Gibbs, much like Ziva appeared to be feeling nothing. The doctors on the other hand, couldn't wait to see Tony go.

"So, I want limited physical activity, and no unnecessary letting of blood," Dr Lawson said talking to Tony, looking him straight in the eye as if talking to an unresponsive child. Clearly Dr Lawson knew Tony well.

"You hear that boss," Tony said turning to Gibbs, who was leant casually against the wall, his arms crossed over his broad chest. Gibbs decided not to even acknowledge Tony's attempt at humour. Not today. Gibbs could tell that as usual Tony was playing up to the class clown persona. But this time, he wasn't just doing it to look good, or to irritate his partner. There was something different. Or more accurately, someone.

"He would not dare," Ziva said softly or firmly. Gibbs understood that she was referring to the physical activity part of the doctor's words. Tony, of course, did not.

"Or what? You two would fight? I would pay to see that…"

Tony received two equally sharp death glares from two sides of the room. But clearly he was a man with a death wish.

"Because you know, that kind of content is illegal in some countries…"

"Physical activity. You will not dare involve yourself in physical activities," Ziva clarified to shut DiNozzo up. And it worked.

Gibbs had to admit, he was impressed. Not only was Ziva a strong woman, but she had the ability to control Tony. Not in a violent or dictatorship way, but somehow she had commandeered his respect just by being herself. And Ziva clearly had the same level of respect for Tony. The two of them fought like a married couple and had eye-sex like passionate lovers. And yet they seemed determined not to be together. But Gibbs was pretty sure that things were about to change. Call in his gut instinct, or call it the two weeks of mandatory rest. Something was going to happen, he was certain of it, whether they initiated it or karma and the fates got bored of waiting for the inevitable to happen. Ziva had taken so much time off work to be with Tony, and was taking even more time off to help him recuperate. Gibbs knew that the studio meant a lot to Ziva; he had learnt that much over the long sleepless nights by Tony's bedside. They were two normally reserved people. But under the circumstances they had began to open up and talk, the cathartic refuge being good for both of them. They were united in their love for Tony, even though it was in two very different ways. He learnt so much about this woman that Tony had fallen in love with (he had. Whether Tony wanted to admit it or not). Through their time Gibbs had learnt about Ziva's life, that mostly revolved around the studio. Whenever she spoke of it her eyes lit up, and there was a brightness in her voice that was only ever present during these times. And when she spoke to or about Tony.

"You have been scheduled for a follow up appointment in 2 weeks. Please don't miss it, we will not clear you for field work if you do not attend," Dr Lawson continued. Finally, he added, "and for goodness sake, don't do anything stupid."

Dr Lawson put out his hand, and Tony shook it with a firm grip. The doctor had been patient throughout Tony's entire stay at the hospital, and had gone above and beyond the call of duty to help Tony get back on track (no-where in his contract did it mention talking stubborn senior field agents out of eating pizza when they were on a strict diet that did not include food that were going to get him back into hospital, this time with coronary heart disease).

"Thank you, doctor," Tony said softly. It was the quietest and most sincere that the doctor had ever seen the man. It didn't, however, last for long.

"Let's blow this joint!"

oooOOOooo

It had been an epic battle to get Tony up the stairs to Ziva's small apartment. Ziva had reasoned that Tony was incapable of taking care of himself (even more so than on an average day), and she would be the best person to help him recover. She also said how she needed to look after her house, so she could kill two turkeys ("does it really matter which bird I kill, Tony" was her reply once Tony had corrected her) with one bullet and he could stay with her. However, no-one had given much thought to the stairs.

"This isn't funny," Tony muttered under his breath at Ziva's smirking face. Gibbs currently had his arm firmly on Tony's waist, and Tony's arm was over his boss' shoulder. However, collectively, they were extremely wide. Wider than the corridor. As a result of this, they were currently walking sideways, Gibbs practically dragging Tony along as he couldn't put his full weight down on the ground.

Wordlessly Ziva closed the rest of the distance between her and her front door and unlocked the door.

An age later, Gibbs finally managed to drop Tony on the couch. Tony bounced once, then twice, before the momentum from the throw was lost and he settled onto the sofa.

"Call if you need anything," said a crabby Gibbs to Ziva. If Tony had been irritated by the whole situation, Gibbs' anger was off the scale. He had to get out of there, before he killed the man.

There was an awkward silence as Gibbs close the door behind him. It was only and this moment that Tony realised that Ziva hadn't spoken to him since they had been at the hospital. And now they were alone in the house together, and the tension was defiantly there.

"I'm just going to make us something to eat…" Ziva mumbled, and she walked off to the kitchen.

Tony could hear the sound of pots and pans banging around and the switch on the kettle being pressed. Tony leant back on the sofa, the heels of his palms coming up to rub his eyes. It was clear that Ziva was mad at him. He was no stranger to making woman mad, he had a rap sheet as long as the eye could see. But most of the time, he knew what he had done, and he knew that he deserved it. He deserved the slap on the face, or the harsh words, or the cold tears that traced down their faces. But this was different. This was Ziva. Ziva, amazing, wonderful, beautiful Ziva who had spent the last few weeks by his bedside watching him as he slept, who was now no longer talking to him. And he fully intended to find out why.

Pressing himself up with both hands, he winced as the muscles protested under the weight that had been suddenly placed on them. He had been so used to the weeks in hospital spent being partially lifted or in a wheelchair that it was almost as if his muscled had forgotten how to work. But they were going to have to learn quick. Because there was a pissed off ninja chick in the kitchen who he needed to speak to. And he needed to get off this couch.

The first thing he noticed was how good Ziva was with a knife. She stood there, slightly to one side chopping vegetables with such deadly accuracy and precision, that it was scary. And not only that, but the anger that she seemed to be harnessing terrified him. He suddenly felt the need to intervene.

"What did those poor vegetables ever do to you?"

Tony could not have predicted how she would have reacted next.

Ziva spun around, hand still gripping the knife, pointing the blade directly at Tony. Tony raised his hands in alarm, watching the steely gaze in her eye as her knuckles whitened under the pressure against the knife. When she saw who it was, her gaze seemed move worried.

"You should not be up," she said putting down the knife and moving to help him back to the sofa.

"You are angry with me," Tony said bluntly. It had been the most truthful he had been in a long time, and even if Ziva had not got that from his voice, his eyes would have given him away. They were darker somehow, piercing and bright, not joking and guarded as they usually were. The words and the look stopped Ziva right in her tracks a few steps away from Tony.

"I am not," Ziva denied immediately.

"I don't believe you."

That was it. The simple statement, and Ziva knew he had her. She could barely admit it to herself. But yes, she was angry with him. And then he asked the question that neither of them could answer.

"Why?"

The silence deafened the two of them, the energy crackling through the air as the magnitude of the situation hit them both.

Ziva didn't want to look him in the eyes. She didn't want him to see her, didn't want him to read her like he did so well. He was not just any man, he could look straight at her and see straight through her. She was naked in front of him and his scrutiny. And she didn't know how to feel about it. She was scared, yes, but there was something else. Some knowledge, some unknown passion that she didn't even know she had the capacity to feel. With a look she was burning from the inside out. It had always been there, a gentle simmer when they were first getting to know each other, increasing to a burning feeling when they shared a look or a touch. And now she was so angry. Why did he have to be so stupid and get himself shot? Now the fear had gone, she could afford to feel angry, and the anger seemed to fuel the burn until it was a white hot flame. It consumed her, made her blood rush all through her body and make every feeling in her body seem magnified ten-fold. And she had to do something about it, or the fire would consume her and she would burn from the inside out. So that's what made her do it.

Taking three strides over to him, she crushed her lips against him, almost violently in a desperate attempt to get closer to him. She could feel her blood rushing through her ears, her eyes dropping closed as they couldn't contain the emotions that bubbled to the surface. She felt one of his hands come up to cup her neck, as he tilted her head to push her lips against his exactly how he wanted them. His other hand came to her bare biceps, and the gentle caress against her skin juxtaposing with the feeling of his lips against hers, and intensifying the passion of his lips. She felt his tongue slip into the confines of her mouth, and just as she moaned in agreement he withdrew. She murmured in protest, but Tony was not finished with her. He mouth moved to devour her neck, biting and sucking at the skin of her neck. Ziva felt her knees buckle as his mouth came to touch her just where her jaw met her neck, and before she knew it she found herself backed into the counter. She could feel his body aligned with hers, and everywhere she felt his touch felt like it was alight, burning and tender and so, so hot.

Tony's lips moved to her ear, biting her ear. Ziva whimpered in response, not recognising the sounds that Tony seemed to pull form the depth of her heart. She had never felt this enflamed before, full of the passion that was Tony DiNozzo.

"Tell me that you want this," Tony ordered huskily into her earlobe. She had always been a strong woman, and none of her past lovers had dared order her into saying something. And yet she found her lips take up their own mind, and a response form.

"I want this," Ziva whispered into his ear, her voice cracking slightly with the passion. Ziva could feel the response that she evoked in Tony, and even for her the simple submission made her heart beat just a little bit faster. Tony sealed his lips against hers again.

He hadn't seen it coming. And yet, now in the moment he could not think of any other way that the situation could have resolved itself. Ziva was ravishing him, and despite his previous words and the apparent dominance he had, Ziva was giving it back as good as she could. She squirmed and moaned under his tongue, and he could not remember the last time he felt desire like this.

Tony tried to pull her onto the countertop, but that was the moment where his injuries made themselves known.

And sharp gasp brought Ziva out of the red she was seeing, and she saw his face contorted in pain. And then she remembered why Tony was there in the first place.

"Shit," Ziva said softly.

"Was I that bad?" Tony said, the cocky tone in his voice showing her that he knew that was exactly the opposite of what had occurred.

Ziva sent him a look, but Tony was too busy to notice. He was looking at her. Her air was mused by _his_ own hands raking through it, her lips swollen with the abuse and love they had just been shown. He moved his hand to ghost across her neck, and she felt her shudder in pleasure as his touch hit a sensitive part of her neck, the senses newly heightened by the previous touch from his lips. He eyes were fluttering shut, and Tony marvelled at how powerful a response she had to him. But she wasn't the only one. Ziva gave him something that he didn't even know he was missing. And it terrified him.

"Ziva?" he asked, and her eyelids fluttered open once more, "I'm glad that happened."

Ziva's smile reassured him of one thing. That she was glad that happened too.

* * *

**_THEY KISSED! :D :D is it worth a review? *bats eyelids*_**


	11. Chapter 11

**_GAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!_**

**_13 REVIEWS! FOR ONE CHAPTER! IM FREAKING OUT!_**

**_deep breathing, deep breathing._**

**_ok, panic over. You guys are AWESOME!_**  
**_this chapter is inspired by SilverStella, who thought it was time for Tony to meet the in-laws, and this idea grew from there. also, we have a little insight into Ziva's past. I know I haven't gone into great detail, but I feel Ziva would be resistant to sharing her past, so doesn't bring it up in conversation..._**

**_anyways, enjoy!_**

**_DISCLAIMER: no i do not own NCIS._**

* * *

Chapter 11

Rivka David let herself into Ziva's apartment with her own key. She knew her daughters well enough to know that neither of them would be awake, given that it was nine o'clock, and that it was a Sunday. Where a normal mum would complain, Rivka was grateful. She had known a time when her children would be woken at 0500 to take part in some drill that Eli had dreamt up. It could be anything from being dropped off in a strange part of the country and having to make their way home, to being given a live IED and being asked to disarm it. Ari had been eighteen, Ziva thirteen and Tali ten. It was only four years later when Rivka decided that enough was enough. That was when Somalia happened.

Rivka walked into the first room on the right, opening the door. On the bed lay a sleeping Tali, who groaned at the sudden bright light flooding through the doorway. Rivka then moved to attack the curtains, throwing them wide open and pulling the blinds up before Tali could utter more protest.

"Immaaaaaaaa," Tali groaned, burying her head deeper into the duvet and trying to get back to sleep. But both of them knew for a fact that Tali would be unable to get back to sleep. She had always been one of those people who could not get back to sleep once they had woken up, so Rivka could safely say that she would see Tali in the kitchen in a few moments scouring the land for something to eat. It was simple scenes like that which lacked in the David household back in Israel, so these few moments were somewhat enjoyed by all parties.

Rivka moved out of the next room along, ignoring Tali's protest. She assumed that Tali would just be trying to call her back to close the blinds or something. But when she reached Ziva's bedroom, she found out what Tali was protesting over, or trying to get her to avoid.

Ziva lay in bed, a man behind her, with his arms securely wrapped around her. And he had no shirt on. As soon as the door was flung open Ziva's eyes shot open, and widened in horror.

"Ima!"

_The evening before_

_They were breathing heavily now, trying to catch their breaths between kisses. They had at some point moved to the couch, the thought of dinner forgotten in the mix of their passion. _

"_Just take the damn bed already," Ziva murmured. They had been having this argument for at least fifteen minutes, and the reason that it hadn't been resolved was the fact they were both equally stubborn. And they had some other better thing to be doing. _

"_Can we not just sleep together," Ziva said again, trying to concentrate while Tony was ravishing her neck. _

"_What happened to no physical activity," Tony said against her neck. _

"_Since when was sleep a physical activity," Ziva said. And then she realised what she had said. _

"_I meant actual sleep!" Ziva said. _

_There was nothing but the sound of Tony's lips on her skin. And somewhere along the line, Ziva gave up the fight that was her mind against her heart and Tony. _

"_FINE!"_

Present

Rivka pottered around the kitchen switching on the coffee machine and making a start on breakfast. Ziva kept a pretty well stocked kitchen, so she wasn't struggling to find things to make. A few moments later Rivka heard the shower start up, knowing that it was Tali who was trying to wake herself up. A few moments later Ziva walked in, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and pulling on a hoodie on top of her pyjamas.

"Hey Ima," Ziva said, kissing her on the cheek in greeting from behind as her mum cut up the ingredients to what transpired to be omelettes. Ziva pulled a mug out of the tall cupboard and poured herself a generous cup of coffee.

"You didn't tell me you were sleeping with someone."

That statement was all it took for Ziva to almost drop her coffee cup. That kind of statement was her mum all over. A strange blend of motherly comfort and tough love, mixed in with a quick wit and a deadpan sense of humour. Ziva's eyes widened to comical proportions, and it took a few moments worth of spluttering and stuttering to compose a sentence.

"We're not sleeping together! He's just staying here because he's just been discharged from hospital, and I'm looking after him. I didn't want him to take the couch because it wouldn't be good for his injuries, and he wouldn't let me take the couch either."

All Rivka did was raise her eyebrows in disbelief. However, Ziva was saved from anymore answers by Tony sweeping in.

"Morning sweetcheeks," he said, leaning down to kiss her on the lips. However, Ziva was too fast and turned so that his lips landed on her cheek. Then he realised who else was in the kitchen.

"Mrs David," Tony said, addressing Rivka, but still wrapping his arms around Ziva at the same time.

"Are you sleeping with my daughter," she said, ignoring his greeting. However, Tony without skipping a beat.

"No. She wouldn't let me."

This seemed to be the right answer, and Rivka nodded in approval. She turned back to her chopping board, but heard the sound of Ziva's fist hitting his muscly forearm.

"So, what did you say your name was?" Rivka said.

"Anthony DiNozzo Junior, ma'am," Tony said.

"Does that mean there's a Senior?" Rivka said suggestively, and Ziva looked over at her in disgust.

"Mum!"

"I am going to take a shower…" Tony said, sensing that he should leave the two women alone to talk. However, the way he said it made it seem more like a question than a statement, so Ziva answered him.

"Let me help you take the dressing off," she said, turning Tony towards the door. While his back was turned Ziva sent Rivka a pointed look before leaving.

Tony found that Tali had beaten him to the shower, so headed back into the kitchen to go and face Ziva and her mother. He had not expected to encounter Ziva's family so early on in the relationship, Ziva and Tony not having defined themselves, so were going to be at loss as to define themselves to other people.

Tony headed back to the kitchen to investigate what was smelling so good in the kitchen. However, the conversation that he heard stopped him in his tracks, right by the kitchen door, close enough to hear but not be seen.

"You have to tell him."

The first voice Tony could tell was Rivka's.

"About what," Ziva's voice floated to his ears.

"Somalia."

"Somalia is a thing of the past."

"But it is something he needs to know about."

"He does not!"

"Do you not trust him?"

"I trust him. Possibly too much."

Tony had to smile at the admission, but was troubled by the part of the conversation that he had heard. Yes, he was just getting to know Ziva, but she meant something to him. He couldn't quite define what, but she definitely meant something. It was the time Tony thought he should make himself known.

"So, what's for breakfast," he said casually rounding the corner. Ziva jumped a vertical mile when she saw him, but tried to cover it. Tried, and failed.

"Mum, could you, give us a minute," she said, not breaking eye contact with Tony.

There was a pause for a few moments until she was convinced that her mother was out of earshot.

"How much of that did you hear?" she asked slowly and cautiously.

"Long enough to know you trust me?" but just as Ziva was about to breathe a sigh of relief he continued, "And Somalia."

Ziva froze in her step, and moved to stand closer to Tony. They stood there for a moment, neither of them quite knowing what to say.

Images coursed through Ziva's mind. It had been a while since she had thought about Somalia, and now her mother had brought it up she could not stop thinking about it. There were too many memories. Too many horrible memories. And now she was going to have to share them with Tony.

"It was in the summer of 1995…"

oooOOOooo

_24th July, 1995_

_The air was as still and hot as the three bodies that lay in that cell, almost as if they had been there so long that they had blended into their surroundings. The first was a man, around twenty nine in age, and built in a way that showed countless hours in the gym. But those hours meant nothing now, as he sat there tied to the chair, as harmless as a mouse with no sense in direction. The second man was younger, a face that spoke hours in the sun rather than marred with the wounds of battle. He was also attached to a chair, but his eyes were downcast in defeat. He had never been in this kind of situation before. But neither of them truly had. The final figure wasn't attached to a chair. It was slumped on the floor, tasting the bitter earth on their tongue as their face tried to drink in the coolness that the floor provided. Sweat seeped off the body and onto the floor, which greedily drank it up. _

_It was Ziva David, age thirteen. _

_The doors swung open to reveal a man. But none of the figured turned to the door. They all knew who it would be. _

_He leaned down, grabbing Ziva from the floor and hauling her to her feet. Her legs buckled with the sudden exertion of being on her feet after so many days of not needing to use those muscles. He dropped her back to the ground in disgust, and Ziva felt her fractured ribs bend and put pressure against her organs as she hit the hard floor once again._

"_Tell me of Operation Novella," the words emerged from his lips, his accent as thick as the hot desert air. _

_There was silence from the three Mossad agents. And this was not the answer that he was looking for. Before any of the agents could react he brought his solid boot to Ziva's prone body on the floor. Ziva cried out in protest, too tired to push down the cries of pain that she had worked so hard in the beginning to silence. Just as her training had taught her. But training hadn't helped them when they had been captured. Training hadn't helped them escape this hell hole. Training went out of the window after the first week of their capture. _

_The pain that Ziva felt was mirrored in the older agent's eyes. Agent Farah had never wanted Ziva to come on the mission. He had flat out refused the moment that Ziva had stepped onto the cargo plane. Ziva had heard every word of the heated argument that had ensued between Farah and the commanding officer, and had been surprised when she saw him step back onto the plane, and introduce himself formally to Ziva. It had transpired later on that Farah had a teenage daughter who was the same age as Ziva. _

_The next agent who had stepped on board had clearly been aware that Ziva was going to be present. The younger agent had introduced himself as Agent Paulo, a friend of Ari's who had taken the mission, and to who Ari had requested he look after Ziva. _

_Ziva felt herself being hauled to her feet again, feeling the cold blade of the knife against her skin. But she did not shy away from it. She revelled in the cool feeling in the blade, and the salvation that would come if that knife was just to dip a little deeper. She embraced the feeling. She was ready to die. _

_She felt her ripped shirt ride up, exposing her back. Her captor clearly had an idea from this, and began to carve a pattern in her back. She could pin-point that exact moment where she felt the blade pierce her skin. _

"_For every moment you wait, one scar will be added to this pretty one's body," he said. It was not the tone of voice that scared her. It was the complete lack of emotion that were present in his calm voice. _

"_Don't touch her," Farah said, his voice breaking from the lack of water. _

"_Or what?" their captor sneered in accented Hebrew, and as a reward for his stubbornness, he pressed the blade into Ziva's back._

"_Operation Novella."_

_Farah and Paulo both said nothing, but Paulo's eyes remained fixed to the floor. In the beginning he had been as determined as Farah to keep Ziva safe. But now he was using his energy elsewhere, trying to prevent himself from spilling Israeli secrets. But Ziva did not blame him. Dying tended to make a person more forgiving. _

_Farah on the other hand stared at their captor in the eyes defiantly. It was proving to be a greater job to break him than their captor first thought. Then suddenly, without warning, their captor pulled out a gun and Ziva's mind did not even register the shot until she saw Farah's body hit the floor. And he never moved again. _

_That was the only time she ever shed a tear. _

"_Maybe that will give you something to think about," and with that Saleem Ulman left, and Ziva and Paulo were left staring at Farah's dead lifeless eyes, the same eyes his daughter would stare at her a month after at the funeral, all asking her the same question that she could not answer, that kept her awake at night, for all those years._

_Why?_

oooOOOooo

Tony sat there on Ziva's couch, just watching her. Her eyes had not moved from that one point on the wall since she had stated her tale. Her eyes were glazed over slightly with tears.  
"Ziva?" Tony said softly, and Ziva's head snapped around almost violently. She blinked a few times, the grey fog her eyes finally parting.

"There you are," he said softly, and Ziva smiled gently at Tony, the smile pushing the tears in her eyes until they spilled over. Abruptly, she stood up.

"Excuse me," she said standing up.

"I'll come too," he said firmly. Ziva gave him a strange look.

"I'll follow you, where ever you run to," he said. And it was true. Now, all Ziva had to do was believe it.

* * *

**_so, does it deserve a review? :)_**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hello! **_

_**sorry that this chapter wasn't out yesterday, there is a lot on my mind at the moment, but i had to put something out. This is a little short, and i apologise, but there are some no so nice real-life things going down... so im sorry... :(**_

_**thank you for the reviews, every one of them made my day a little brighter! if you have any suggestions of things you want to see in this story, please let me know and then i can put them in! **_

_**DISCLAIMER: not mine **_

* * *

Chapter 12

Ziva stared at Tony's sleeping figure on her bed. True to his word he had hardly let her out of his sight all evening, and now when he was asleep seemed to be the only time that Tony had taken his eyes off her. But even then, when she had got up he had groaned in protest, as Ziva untangles herself from his bare arms. She had pressed a gentle kiss on the top of his head, and he had begrudgingly settled back into sleep. It was amazing how perceptive he was, even in his sleep, and most of the time Ziva would be thankful or grateful for this fact. But not today. Not when she was running away.

Ziva slipped out of the room soundlessly, clothes in a dark pair of leggings and a large hoodie which she had pulled off the radiator whilst groping in the dark for something to wear. She grabbed her keys from the basket by the door and pulled the door shut behind her, not once looking back.

Tony could tell something was wrong. The moment he rolled over onto his side to move to find Ziva, and the small bundle of warmth was not there. His eyes opened slowly at this stark realisation, and he took a few moments to adjust to his surroundings. The first thing he notices was the slightly crumpled sheets that were drawn back, as if someone had left in the middle of the night. The next thing he noticed was the full glowing moon hung high in the sky, and the time on the digital clock. But none of it made sense. Where was Ziva, and why did she had better things to so at 0200 than be in bed with him.

Tony stumbled to his feet, the cold night air hitting his body with its full force. He pulled on a T-shirt that was lying haphazardly on a chair by the bed, trying desperately to push some warmth back into her body.

Moving towards to living room he flicked the lights, squinting against the sudden bright haze. But Ziva wasn't there. He pushed open every door, including Tali's room, where he found nothing but a sleeping Tali snoring like a drunken sailor and deeply buried in her duvet. But no Ziva. Where was she?

Ziva pushed open the doors of the dance studio, the lights flickering on automatically, as if welcoming her home. It had been too long since she had come here, spending most of her days looking after Tony, and being texted or called every so often with updates from her assistant teachers. She had always known when she insisted on taking Tony home that looking after him would be a twenty-four hour thing, but she had not predicted how much she would miss the cold floors and the white washed walls. She entered the first dance studio on her right, flashing back to all those months ago when she had first seen Tony push open those very doors and make his prescience known. That had been so long ago, and she shamefully remembered how the first thought that crossed her mind was "he is hot", her inner schoolgirl radar going off at the hot man approaching. But it was in those months after that she learnt more. She didn't learn that she was wrong, on the contrary as she got to know the real Tony DiNozzo he seemed to get more and more attractive. She had always seen men in that way. When they first appeared good looking, then turned out to be an arrogant arse, she began to see more faults that good things. Whereas with Tony, the more she got to know him, the more she noticed the small things that made his to attractive. Like the way when he smiled there were two distinct lines on either cheek, and his eyes turned a lighter dancing green. Or the way he could make her feel more desirable than any man had ever made her feel before with one look and a touch. But that was one of the things that scared her. The fact that, whether she liked it or not, she was falling hard and fast for this amazing man, and she didn't even want to hit that ground, because she had felt the pain that had come with falling from cloud nine. She didn't want that to happen, not again. Her track record with men was bad. There was no nicer way of putting it. At first, she had blamed them. It wasn't her fault that he was a jerk, or wanted something different to her, or couldn't love her the way she was. But then, after the pattern continued repeating, she began to think that it wasn't them. It was her. Maybe she repelled men because she repulsed them, or maybe it was because she wasn't beautiful. She had been called hot or pretty enough times, but hot was based on her physical attributes alone, and "pretty" was the way you described a necklace that you really couldn't care less about. And she was a woman scarred beyond repair, both on the inside and out. No wonder men didn't love her.

But then there was Tony. There was something different about him. She felt something, and she was fairly certain that he felt something too. But would that be enough? Surely in a few months or years he would grow tired of her issues, and just leave her. She knew that Tony wasn't the kind of person to just leave without trying, but she couldn't trap him in a relationship, not ending it because he felt sorry for her. Could she do that to him, when she loved him so much?

She walked over to the CD played in the corner and selected a track at random from the CD that was already in the player. Dropping her bag in the corner, she pulled off the hoodie that she had thrown on when leaving the house, and a sob almost left her mouth. It was one of Tony's. She knew there was a reason that it felt so soft against her skin, and smelt to much like home.

She stretched out as the music began to flow out of the player, pulling her arms across her body and stretching her legs out, her back clicking to warm up. When she felt that she had warmed up she took a deep breath, shaking her hands and feet out before becoming completely still. And then she danced.

Pulling his phone out Tony dialled the number of his trusty side kick.

"Hey, I need you to trace a phone number for me," Tony said in a hushed voice.

"Tony, it's 0200," Tim said, Tony heard a voice at the other end of the phone ask who it was, but Tim's response was muffled as he put his hand over the mouthpiece.

"It's important," Tony said. He switched her hand he held the phone with so he could scrawl out a note for Tali if she woke up and then were both still gone.

"Right, who is it," Tim sighed, and Tony could hear the whirring of machines in the background. Tony recited the number that he knew off by heart quickly.

As Tim repeated the number, a thought came to his mind.

"That's Ziva's number?"  
Tony would have made a comment about McGee knowing Ziva's number off by heart, but knowing McBrainbox his super intelligent brain could store that kind of information.

Tony heard some tapping from the other end of the line, and the phone was picked up again.

"It's still at her apartment, Tony, is something wrong?"  
"No, it's all good," Tony lied, "Thanks anyway McGee." And hung up.

On the other side of town, Tim was shocked. Tony had been nice, and actually thanked him for something. Something was wrong. He shook his head at the strange scenario. But then again, most scenarios were strange at 0200.

"What did Tony want?"  
And then Tim's thought were brought back to the beautiful woman in front of him. She was rubbing her eyes gently with the cuffs of her skull and cross bone pyjamas, and the sight was too beautiful to waste time thinking about Tony.

"Nothing. Let's just get some sleep," Tim said, and Abby led them back into his bedroom, right where they both belonged together.

Tony wasn't panicked. He was just extremely worried. Or that was what he kept telling himself over and over again as he drove round the empty streets of Washington, trying to find Ziva. She wasn't on her usual jogging route, she wasn't at any of her favourite pubs or clubs, and she didn't have her phone with her. OK, so maybe he was a little bit panicked.

He looked at the clock, internally debating over whether it was a good idea to contact the police. But he didn't want to cause unnecessary fuss. Plus, he didn't want to piss anyone off. He was afraid of them. And when he said them, he was referring to Ziva, not the police. The police had nothing on his crazy ninja chick.

Coming up with zero every time he added one and one, he decided that he would consult the only person who he knew would have the answer to his situation. He just had to hope that he didn't slap him into next week for waking him up at such a strange hour.

"Yeah Gibbs."

"Hey, Gibbs, sorry about the time bu-"

"Get to the point DiNozzo."

"I can't find Ziva. She's not out jogging, she's not at any of her favourite club, and she left her phone at home"

"The studio," Gibb said gruffly, and Tony could have hit himself for not thinking of that.

"Thanks b-" but the click from the other end of the phone told him that Gibbs had already got bored, and had already hung up.

In the depths of her mind Ziva noticed when the song changed again on the player, but she somehow didn't care. There was just a slight change in her rhythm when the new song came on, and even in the short break between the songs her rhythm did not falter. Her body moved with the emotion of the song, all the pain and doubt from every ounce of her being getting transmitted through her movement. She hardly noticed the tears running down her face, her eyes closed, just relying on the music to see. But without her eyes she could see what was important. She could see Tony's laugh, his dancing eyes, she could feel the sensation that spread through her body when his lips fell against hers. But the tears kept flowing as she remembered why she had run, and she spun over and over again, one of her arms above her head, the other curving at right angle to her body. She kept spinning, giving into every sensation that coursed through her body, all the pain and self-doubt, all the bitter words and the harsh realities. And then she crumpled to the floor sobbing.

Tony pulled up in front of the dance studio at 0300. He had broken every traffic rule that there was to break, but at this time in the morning there was no-one around to tell him that he'd broken them. He pulled the car door open and strode purposefully to the entrance of the studio. He could see the lights on from the lobby, but there was only one studio with the lights on inside, and one with music coming out of it.

He peered through the glass panel off the door, and gave a sigh of relief. There was Ziva. She wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere, kidnapped or mugged. She was there, in body and mind. But there was something wrong. Tony could see the heaving of her breaths as she drew oxygen into her lungs in gasping breath. Her shoulders shook with each sob that fell from her body, and the tears fell onto the wooden panel floor. Curled up there in the middle of the room, Tony didn't see the woman who he had shamelessly flirted with, who had ignited him with desire with just a look. He saw the woman that he felt such tenderness for, the woman who he had unwittingly fallen for in such a short period of time. And now that woman was hurting.

He gently pushed open the heavy door, but the sharp noise still resonated around the room against the pause between music. Ziva's head snapped around sharply, so caught up in her thoughts that the violent awakening startled her.

"Tony?" she said softly.

Tony said nothing, but walked closer to her, Ziva shuffled back a little, putting distance between them as Tony tried to close that distance. As Ziva saw the flash of hurt in his eyes, she felt guilty. She was causing him pain. That was all that she was doing for him.

"Tony?" she said again, this time clearing her throat before she spoke so the words came out as less of a whisper.

"Ziva," Tony said, and closing the distance between them he knelt down and kissed her. What began as soft and hesitant grew as Ziva grabbed onto her shirt, pulling him closer. She had doubted why Tony wanted her, but now there was no doubt. Tony loved her. Tony wanted her. The kiss began to heat as Tony dug his hands through her hair, then brought them to run down her neck. She shuddered in pleasure, and his tongue smoothed over hers in response.

They disconnected their lips, leaning their foreheads against each others to catch their breaths. Ziva's mouth could not help but break out in a grin, and she closed her eyes shyly. When she opened her eyes, Tony asked her one question. Not what she was thinking, not why she had left. Those questions would come with time. Instead, he asked something completely different.

"Dance with me?"

* * *

**_kinda cheesy, i know... did you guys like the McAbby moment? :)_**


	13. Chapter 13

**_I wasn't intending to upload tonight, i have been crazy busy and right now I'm trying to memorize a ten minute long speech. In french. But apparently this has made me eternally grateful to be allowed to write in English, and this chapter appeared from nowhere! :D_**

**_DISCLAIMER: not mine :(_**

* * *

Chapter 13

"Ahh, how I missed these stained orange walls…"

It was Tony's first day back at work after the accident, and in true Tony style he felt the need to announce his return in the only way that he knew how. Loudly. He had to let the office know what they were missing in his absence. Therefore, they would appreciate him even more when he returned. Or at least, that was the plan.

"Knock it off DiNozzo," Gibbs said walking past with his usual impeccable timing. Much to Tony's surprise, Gibbs didn't knock the back of his head, and Tony stood there glued to the spot in surprise for a moment.

"Don't think I won't, DiNozzo," Gibbs said in response to Tony's thought. Tony shook his head. Crazy psychic boss…

Tony settled himself down at his desk, surveying his kingdom to see if anything had been stolen. Finding nothing missing he turned to Kate, who was intensely reading a document in front of her on the glowing screen.

"So, Katie, what have I missed?"

"Let's see…" Kate said, turning from her computer monitor, "McGee finally asked Abby out. There is a new j-"

"Wait, what?!"

"What?" Kate said, confused.

"McAbby?"

"What is McAbby," Kate said, now even more baffled at her co-worker. His eyes had grown to massive proportions, and Kate wondered if it was actually possible for them to leave their sockets completely.

"McGee. Asked out Abby?"

"Well, he kind of shouted it at her, he was pretty scared. It was rather frightening…"

"You were there?"

"No. But Abby apparently couldn't wait to tell me all about it."

It was at that moment that the aforementioned Probie decided to grace them with his presence. Tony turned to the now nervous looking probie, the anger in his eyes making McGee almost take a step back. Almost.

It was apparent that Abby wasn't just good for McGee's dating life, but his general self confidence too. When Tony moved to invade McGee's space, instead of cowering away normal probie style, McGee stood nose to nose with Tony, not breaking the eye contact that Tony had initiated. Kate had never noticed how close in height the two of them actually were, but now McGee seemed to grow with the new founded confidence.

"You asked Abby out," Tony stated, his normally joking eyes filled with a edgy and serious dark look.

"I did," McGee said with equal intensity. Both of them were so lost in their staring match that they didn't notice Kate whip out her mobile phone to record the situation for later viewing with Abby herself. Abby would have killed her if she did not get photographic evidence of this face off.

They continued to stare at each other for a few moments, McGee refusing to break under Tony's scrutiny.

Finally Tony broke the silence.

"You have balls, McLoving."

"Yeah, Abby likes them," McGee shot back equally quickly. It was times like this that reminded Tony that McGee was indeed a writer, and his skill with words could disarm a man. It wasn't just due to the fact his book was based on them that the book did so well.

It was at this moment which Gibbs grew uncomfortable with the way that these men were talking about his daughter. It was his job to do the whole "you hurt Abby, I fry your eyeballs". And there was something uncomfortable about Tony and McGee discussing McGee's balls…

"Do we pay you to do nothing?" Gibbs said gruffly.

"Come on Gibbs, are you just going to let the kid get away with dating Abby!"

McGee raised one eyebrow at the use of the word kid, but otherwise said nothing.

"Oh, McGee knows where we stand," Gibbs said, and a look passed between the two of them. Tony thought that Gibbs hadn't said anything to McGee. But Tony wasn't at work last week…

_One week ago. _

_McGee was just shutting down his computer for the night. He was looking forward to go back to his house, where Abby had promised a meal when she left earlier and a… surprised. With a huge grin plastered on his face, McGee slung his gear-bag across his shoulder and switched off his desk lamp, plunging the area into darkness, save the glowing lights of the city skyline from outside the huge glass windows. Had he known what was about to happen, he would not have left his desk. _

_He stood in front of the elevator waiting for the cool metal doors to slide open. But before they could, McGee felt a hand on the back of his blazer, and before he could shake it off he found himself being hauled around the corner out of sight and slammed against the wall. _

_In the dark half light, McGee's eyes began to adjust to the lack of light, just enough to make out the dark outline of his boss. Yet in identifying him, McGee did not know whether he felt less or more afraid. The cold dark look was yet to leave Gibbs' eyes, but McGee knew what was coming. He had been luck to go this long without having a talk from Gibbs. He was a man with a death sentence, knowing that he could not avoid this talk forever. Even though Abby loved him, this did nothing to stop Gibbs' desire to defenestrate him. _

"_Give me one good reason I should let you leave this building alive."_

_McGee's confidence may have grown over the years, but it was intelligence that made his continually afraid of Gibbs. If he no longer feared Gibbs, that would have been stupid. And McGee was not a stupid man. _

"_Why should you?" Tim said, but he already knew the answer. _

"_Abby."_

_All Gibbs word did was confirm what McGee already knew. He knew that Gibbs would be pissed off that he was dating his surrogate daughter, but McGee refused to not act on his feelings out of fear of his boss. He may be intelligent, but love made men do stupid things. Like cross Leroy Jethro Gibbs. _

"_Why did you not come to me first?" Gibbs whispered menacingly in his ear, pushing McGee up against the wall. McGee hoped that Gibbs couldn't feel the pounding of his heart in his chest. _

"_Would that have changed anything?" McGee asked, swallowing sharply. If he was going down, he was not going down without a fight. Especially if it was for his Abby. _

_Gibbs stood there in silence for a moment, and McGee didn't know whether the man was ready to let him go or kill him, his expression so unreadable. So McGee took a deep breath to try and convince him to at least accept him. _

"_I would not hurt her. You should see the kind of guys she normally dates, those jerks," for this McGee gained a small smirk from Gibbs, but he kept going, "I'm not like that. I am exactly who she needs, I have exactly what she need, and she loves me. And believe it or not, the feeling is mutual."_

_Gibbs said nothing for a moment, and McGee seriously thought that Gibbs was going to kill him. But a split second later McGee found he was no longer pressed against the wall, and Gibbs was a step away from him. _

"_You hurt her…" he left the threat hanging, but McGee nodded in acceptance anyway. He knew wouldn't have expected any less from Gibbs. But he was glad to be alive for the best part of it…_

oooOOOooo

The news of Tony's return died down, and the team settled back into the routine of filling in files and checking e-mails. Suddenly Tony's phone chirped into life and Tony flicked it open before the noise continued.

_Done anything stupid yet? ;) xx_

Of course it would be Ziva checking up on him. But no-one else but her could do so while sounding nonchalant, caring and sexy at the same time. In a text. But what could he say, he was dating a talented woman.

_Just chased an armed robber three blocks, before tackling him into a ditch, where we wrestled before I reigned victorious. You? Xx_

Her reply was almost instantaneous.

_Liar_. _Xx_

She really was a crazy ninja chick… Tony thought to himself.

_Fine. Paperwork. You? Xx_

_Group rehearsal for competition on Saturday… I am shattered xx_

_You want to grab lunch before your next class? Xx_

_How about 1? Xx_

Tony looked at his clock. 11 am. A whole two hours until he will see her again?! That was like a lifetime. Especially whilst filing expense reports.

His phone buzzed again.

_I will make it worth the wait… xx_

Tony grinned at his phone.

_Sold. Xx_

"So, I heard you went all Tarzan on Tony when he got back this morning?" Abby said between sips of Caf-Pow. News apparently travels fast on a boring day at NCIS.

"You heard?"

"And saw. Kate filmed all of it for me," Abby replied, putting her drink down on the bench in the middle of her lab, and moving to stand right in front of McGee, who stood leaning casually against her computer work station with his arms and ankles casually crossed.

"Yes, and…" McGee said with a teasing nonchalance.

"Well, Timothy…" Abby said, leaning closer so she could whisper into his ear, "It was really hot."

Years ago McGee would have blushed under the desire that Abby had in her voice. But now, he responded differently.

"You find it hot when I get all territorial for you?" McGee murmured, and he could have sworn Abby shuddered in response to his words.

"I love it when you get all macho on me…" Abby admitted, nuzzling her neck into the hollow of his neck. It was moments like these that filled him with pride. Apparently Abby was good for his ego too. He decided that in return she deserved a reward.

Leaning down, he pulled her lips against his, using his larger hands to steer her body to exactly where he wanted it. When he was satisfied, he moved his hands up to her neck, concentrating on loving her with his mouth. He pushed his mouth forcefully against hers, taking her and claiming her. Abby would never have guessed it, but McGee was very skilled with his mouth, and had her heart pounding from a kiss alone. When his hands began to wonder from her neck, she felt lit alight with fire and passion.

They broke away for a moment, and Abby looked up at him with dark green eyes.

"Just to let you know… that was really hot," she said completely dead-pan, and McGee grinned in response. Even when they got all passionate and loving, they never fully left just being themselves. And McGee didn't want it any other way. He loved Abby for who she was, not for who he could turn her into if he wanted.

"So… let me see this video that's got you all hot?"

Abby turned to the workstation, and McGee followed her so his body aligned with her back. With a huge Abby style grin on her face, Abby started the clip.

"Wow, you really know how to treat a woman…"

Ziva and Tony were perched on a park bench in the middle of the city, in one of those places where you could tell some official people had decided that in their city they needed to put a little bit of greenery just so that people didn't complain about the lack of parks and green spaces. So there they were, sitting with burgers from a small food stand and drinks and chips to match.

"Trust me, you will thank me later," Tony replied.

Tony watched Ziva wrinkle her nose slightly whilst unwrapping her burger. But he understood her initial hesitation. When he had first seen the seedy bashed up burger truck he had been undercover as the kind of person who lived off that kind of burger. But after trying those burgers, there was no going back. Those burgers were the best. But he understood Ziva's apprehension. She did not like when men looked at her like that, and the man from the truck made no attempt to hide his blatant once over he gave her.

Ziva took a breath, as if she was preparing for a race rather than a meal, and took a bite out of her burger. She chewed slowly and her eyes lit up in surprise.

"Good?" Tony asked, and all Ziva did nod and take another bite out of the burger before swallowing what she already had in her mouth. It was a good thing that Tony didn't love her on class alone…

Having said that, he was glad that she liked it. He didn't take most girls to this kind of place, mostly because he knew that they would not appreciate anything less than a posh restaurant. But Ziva was open and willing to try new things. Plus, she ate well. Rather than eat like a rabbit on a diet.

"So, what's new at the office?" Ziva said once she had swallowed her mouthful of burger.

"McGee asked Abby out, and now their kind of an item…" Tony said with his mouth full. Nice.

"You sound pissed?" Ziva picked up perceptively.

"Well yeah, he didn't tell me!" Tony said. After the initial shock the first thing that Tony had felt was betrayed. He and the probie were like thing one and thing two. They were each other's wingmen. But McGee had left Tony out of this valuable piece of information.

"Well you didn't tell him when we got together…"

"I didn't tell him because it was none of his business!"  
Ziva gave him a pointed look, and Tony finally understood.

Oh.

"If he needs you, he'll call. But just let him be," Ziva said, stealing a chip from his pile, hers being already diminished to nothing.

Tony narrowed his eyes at her.

"So anyway, what was that you were saying about making this worth the wait?" Tony asked. Ziva's eyes danced playfully, and she put her burger aside, before finding someone else to devour…

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**_did you people like the McAbby? i think they're so cute together! :)_**


	14. Chapter 14

**_Hey!_**

**_thank you for the reviews, especially for last chapter! the number of review i've been getting have been kind of going down hill, kind of making me think that my writing skills/story is going down hill... :( i really hope not..._**

**_special mentions go to SilverStella, GranddaughterOfCaskettAndTiv a, Like a Ship in the Night (who's PM made my day!), prince-bishop, Ami, Robern and EowynGoldberry!_**

**_anyways, on with the show!_**

**_DISCLAIMER: all publicly recognised characters are not mine. :(_**

* * *

Chapter 14

"So, have you heard that Tony has started to date within his own age range?"

Gibbs couldn't help but let his mouth curl into a smirk at Kate's words. They were sat at Gibbs' table with take-out spread out on the desk in front of them. It was the end of a long day worth of paperwork, the inactivity making Kate as indifferent as ever, and Gibbs extremely on edge. The man of action within him was restless and bored, despite the fact a lot of his previous job involved waiting around. But there was something different between the silence that come before the pulling of the trigger and the silence that proceeded more silence, which seemed to drag on into oblivion. Surprisingly it had been Gibbs' idea to grab dinner, both heading out of the office late that night, later than the rest of the team. It had been Kate who suggested Italian, and so they had bought something and now there they sat in Gibbs' living room, a hearty spread of foods ready for them devoir.

"You say that like it is a bad thing," Gibbs replied, taking a forkful of pasta into his mouth.

"And McGee and Abby!" Kate said, as if Gibbs did not already know, "but aren't you going to do something about it?"

There was a moment of silence where Kate just stared at Gibbs. He was far too busy filling his empty stomach. Some thought that Gibbs lived purely off coffee (or at least, that was the impression that he gave off. He didn't do it on purpose. Sort off). However, his closer friends found out that he was as emotionally attached to food as the next guy was. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy food, he just never had the time or patience that were required to prepare a proper meal. Unless cereal counted as a proper meal. Which it didn't.

Gibbs looked up from his plate to see Kate looking at him with an unimpressed expression on her face. But the grin in her eyes showed what she really thought. This side of Gibbs made him look more like a cuddly teddy than the grizzly bear he was at work. But if anyone at work saw him now, they probably wouldn't believe their own eyes. After all, it was a rare thing to see Leroy Jethro Gibbs with his cheeks full of garlic bread.

"What?" he said with his mouth full, muffling the sound.

"So, are you saying that you endorse these inter-office romances?" Kate pretended to admonished. But there was something in her tone or in her voice, something that made the initial joking statement fell like it had a deeper meaning. This resulted in Gibbs giving her a similarly cryptic response.

"Every situation in unique," he said, looking at her straight in the eye. Kate swallowed at his words and the feeling of those piercing blue eyes on her skin. The intensity of his gaze made Kate's skin heat and her chest tighten in the way that she had never felt before. It wasn't the passionate fire she had felt when she had first encountered Ari in the elevator, it was a deeper fire that was always there, and never seemed to leave her, growing hotter and hotter until it consumed her. She could give in, and she was certain that the rewards would be even better than she could ever dream. But that was only on the condition that Gibbs would return the love in the way Kate knew he could. But he could have any woman he wanted. He could walk into a room, and have woman on their knees with just one look of those piercing eyes. So why would he want her?

Kate had never been insecure. She couldn't afford to be. Fighting her way to the top, protecting the president, it wasn't something she got by wit alone. Grit and determination and a self confidence that had men cowering in corners had got her there. But when it came to Gibbs something changed. To an average passerby, she was exactly the same person, same dry humour, same sarcastic drawl, but there was something different. He was different. For him, she felt like she could never be good enough. She felt that he was the man who she could see herself in love with, but the real fear was the fear that he would reject her, like he did with so many other women. So instead of be rejected, Kate figured it was better to not try and not get burned. It was less painful that way.

When Tony let himself into Ziva's apartment after work that day, he didn't know what he was expecting. He just knew it was not what he saw.

Ziva was stirring a pot of something that smelt like heaven, whilst cradling the phone in the crook of her neck. And she was conversing in rapid Hebrew. Something that Tony rarely heard her do, other than the occasional word of expression. But he had never witnessed a full blown argument.

It was at this moment that Ziva had clearly grown tired with the person at the other end of the phone, and proceeded to hang up on them without saying anything in a way of good bye.

"Who was that?" Tony said, walking in and wrapping his arms around her small waist. No matter how many times he felt her body against his, he could never get enough. She was like his drug, he was never happy until his next fix. But the happy coincidence was that she apparently felt the same way, as she curled herself more fully against him.

"No-one important," Ziva said, wriggling out of his arms so she could turn around and greet him properly. The steamy kiss that she pulled him in for was short and sweet, before Tony forcefully pushed her against the counter, pulled her legs around his waist so he could run his hands across her legs. The black leggings she wore did nothing the deter the sensation that coursed through her at the feel of Tony's larger hot hands on her legs, moving higher and closer, before retreating back to her ankles.

When they broke off for breath Tony's mouth spoke against her neck, making her shudder at the contact.

"Important or not, you sounded pretty worked up about it," he said, his cheek moving against her neck and sending shivers down her spine.

"It was just my father," Ziva said casually.

"I thought your father was dead?"

"I never said that," Ziva said, her response too quick and too defensive.

"You never mentioned him," Tony replied, trying to calm her with fingers ghosting across her neck, "what did he want?"

"He wants me to return to Israel, to fulfil my destiny, to become his child again, nothing new…" Ziva said nonchalantly.

"Destiny? What destiny?" Tony said, now thoroughly confused. But he suspected that this all had something to do with Somalia. Tony had not pushed for more information other than the pieces she had offered that night, but now the missing pieces seemed to be falling into place. The missing pieces being her father.

"Who is your father?" Tony asked softly, sensing that this answer was going to be difficult for both of them.

Ziva sighed, knowing that she would have to tell Tony eventually. She wished that her life was simple, that she didn't come with the excess baggage that she had. No person would boast of all the issues and fractures that she came with. And now, she was going to have to unload all of these problems onto Tony. He didn't deserve all of this. In the way that pained her the most to say, Tony deserved a woman who had a simple past, a loving family, and the intention of having the exact same thing with Tony. But instead, he got her, Ziva David. Baggage and all.

"He is the Director of Mossad."

"Eli David?!" Tony said. In his time with NCIS he had encountered Director David a number of times. And after said times, he felt like he needed a really long how shower to rid him of the director's slimy aura, "you are Ziva David, as in Eli David!"

"Yes, I am," Ziva said calmly.

"Why is that not on file?" Tony blurted out, before wincing. Oops. He shouldn't have said that.

"You've read my file!"

"Only when we first met at the studio while investigating the death. I didn't know you then," Tony said quickly. But to more pressing issues, "so why is it not on file."

"My father disowned my mother and all of us as soon as she took us and fled to the states. He said he wanted nothing to do with her, or us," Ziva said bluntly.

"So if he had disowned you, then legally he has no hold on you."  
Ziva let out a dry humourless bark of laughter. But there was nothing funny about the situation.

"He is the director of one of the largest and most powerful agencies in the world. He will never stop having influence on my life."

Tony just stood there trying to take all of this in.

"How long has this been going on for?" Tony asked.

"Years," Ziva answered quickly.

Tony didn't have time to be angry at Ziva for keeping this thing secret from him. He was too busy trying to think of ways out for Ziva. There must have been some way for Ziva to stop having to deal with Eli. There must be some kind of hoop that she could jump through to get Eli off her back for good.

"Are you an American citizen?" Tony asked. He was suddenly aware of how much he didn't know about Ziva. They had chemistry, and they had fire. But other than that, they lacked the time that a conventional couple had before they got together to just learn about each other. And now he was going to have to take a crash course in Ziva in order to help her.

"Yes. "

The short answer didn't deter Tony in the slightest. But he should have taken that answer as a warning. He could have stopped things then and there. Before they got out of hand, like they did next.

"Maybe we could change your home number.

"Never thought of that one," Ziva said sarcastically, and Tony looked up for the first time. He had been too preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice that Ziva had tried to put some distance between the two, but subconsciously Tony had refused to let her go. Now, he allowed her out of his arms, and she spoke for the first time out of her own accord.

"Tony, will you stop."

There was a silence before she could continue.

"Thank you for trying to help, really, I appreciate it. But I do not need you, or anyone else to deal with my father."  
"But what about what's mine is yours and all that stuff," Tony retaliated.

"We are not married, neither are we anywhere near that!"Ziva replied quickly and harshly, her voice raised. And then she realised what she had said.

"So this isn't anything to you then," Tony said. In hindsight, he knew that he should have bitten back those words. He should have known that Ziva would be too used to looking after herself that it would take a little time before she trusted him enough to look after her too. But in the heat of the moments, things were said that he would regret later. But his anger clouded his judgement, and spoke for him in the moment.

"Tony…"

But Ziva did not have time to finish her sentence, before Tony abruptly let go off her and left the room.

Tony almost banged his head on the steering wheel in frustration. Why did he have to go and be so stupid like that? First Ziva begins to open up to him, starts to trust him. Then the moment she starts hesitating instead of taking it slow he has a go at her and ups and leaves. He couldn't hate himself any more than he did in that moment.

The light turned green ahead, and Tony put his foot down to bring the car to life. As he drove his thoughts raced ahead of him. What if Ziva didn't let him explain when he got back? What if she told him to get out of her life, and never return? It was the fear of this rejection that made him take the right that led him back around the block, not the left that meant he would do back to Ziva's. He wanted to put off the rejection, even if it was just by a few moments.

One hour.

One hours since Tony had left, one hour that Ziva had spent sitting on her living room sofa, watching the clock move slowly forward. She needed Tony to come back. She needed him to tell her that she hadn't blown it, that he wasn't going to give up on her like so many before him had. She needed to tell him that she loved him.

Ziva wasn't a "needy" person in general. She was independent. She was smart. She could get places in life. But there was something inside her that no matter how much she resisted, she still needed something. That need had never been filled, not with anything or anyone. Until Tony came along. It was when he waltzed into her life that she realised that this was what she needed, who she needed. And who she needed to need her back.

The front door clattered for the second time that evening, and Ziva internally prayed that it was Tony, and not Tali returning from her night out with her friends. Apparently the gods had decided that they were done torturing her for the day, and that some good luck should be hers. The solid footsteps on the thick carpet indicated that it was Tony who stepped through the door. The steps seemed heavier than usual, as if the weight of his actions were bearing down on him.

He stood in the doorway, hesitating on whether to enter or not. Ziva could see the guilt and sadness in his eyes, as well as the love and care that seemed to always shine in those green orbs. All she could do was imagine what she looked like to him.

She looked far too small. That was the first thing that Tony saw when he saw Ziva curled up on the couch like that. There was nothing more heartbreaking for him than to see Ziva, his crazy ninja Ziva look small. Her eyes were large and sad, glittering with hurt and sadness. But Tony could tell somehow that she wasn't angry at him. There was none of that residing in her eyes. Yet despite this, the next words that came out of her mouth surprised him. Not because they were hurtful or angry or bitter. But for an entirely different reason.

"_Marry me, Tony._"

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**_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK! CLIFFY! :D_**


	15. Chapter 15

**_Hey!_**

**_Is it too early to be writing festive chapters? if yes... ahhh well!_**  
**_this one is a little on the short side, but will give resolution to the previous chapter._**

**_enjoy!_**

**_DISCLAIMER: i do not own the characters. i am just a writer, who promises to put them back once I've finished with them :)_**

* * *

Chapter 15

The cold icy air hung over the ground, making a mist so cold that the trees and their branches hung in resolution, submitting themselves to the icy air. On the ground people rushed and bustled, desperate to get out of the frosty air, with people pulling scarves and hats from the depths of their wardrobes to shield themselves from the harsh breezes. But the change in the air meant one thing couldn't be denied. It was Christmas time.

Abby loved Christmas. But more specifically, she loved the joy that the holidays brought, the feeling of family, and the day where she could feel that no matter how suckish the world was, there was hope. After all, what was the human race if they did not have hope? For one day people opened up their homes, soup kitchens were filled to the brim with people who had nothing, yet because of the joy of Christmas were warmed with the smiled and laughter emanating from the people who had given up their days to serve others food and drink. Abby never grew tired of the faces, some of them showing their gratitude visibly with a smile on their faces, some of them appearing to be indifferent, but Abby could see in their eyes that this meant something to them. That was the reason that she did it.

She mounted the steps to Tim's apartment, something that was easier said than done when she was trying to carry a box full of decorations so big that she could no longer see her platform clad feet. When she got to his front door she put the box down with an almighty crash, making so much noise that Tim's neighbour who had apparently just returned from a shopping trip gave her the strangest look as she reached her own front door. Abby had never encountered Tim's neighbour to the left, but it was something about Abby combined with the holiday spirit that made her extra cheerful and giving.

"Evening, Ma'am," Abby said cheerfully, the antlers perched on her head bobbing in time to her words. But apparently this sight was too strange for the neighbour to comprehend, so that the only response Abby got was a door slammed in her face. But Abby was in too good a mood to be ruined by some Grinch who wanted to steal Christmas, so in the same cheerful spirit, she knocked on Tim's front door, her face shining with the same childish delight that it had for the past 20 years at this time of the year. The youth had not been bled from Abby, despite the years that had meant so many of her peers lost what they once had in their childhood. Joy. And happiness. In a world full of discontent, people like Abby were pearls in the sand.

"TIMMY! OPEN UP!"

When the door swung open to reveal Tim in sweatpants and an old T-shirt, the movement was so abrupt that Abby's knocks were brought to an untimely halt, as she almost fell through the door and into his arms.

"Woah!" Tim said, catching Abby before she could face plant into his soft carpet. But Abby seemed to be unfazed by her near death experience, and once she was righted, she, like a small gothic jack in a box, she continued.

"HI!"

Tim moved in to greet his girlfriend properly, fully intent on kissing her until she forgot her own name. But before his lips could reach hers, she turned away to bend over and retrieve the box of decorations that she had deposited on his front door.

"Out of my way," Abby ordered. Tim tilted his head quizzically as if contemplating defying her, before deciding that he liked his mortality the way it was, and moving out of the way.

Abby pulled her feet out of her tall platform boots, and her warm fuzzy Christmas socks (complete with complimentary flashing Rudolf nose) hit Tim's thick carpet. It was only when Abby was half way down his hallway when she realised that there was something wrong. Her Timmy wasn't following him. Abby spun on her heel to ask what was wrong, but her words stopped in their tracks. Standing there, only illuminated by the lamp on the table by his desk, Tim's T-shirt was tight around his chest, and his crossed his arms, his biceps tensed. When did her Timmy get so damn hot?

"Where's my hello?" he asked softly, his voice lower than the rest of the world usually heard it. Abby pretended to sigh and turned to put down her box of decorations. When she turned back Tim was right in front of her. Damn, he was fast.

They stood there, so close but not quite touching, their breaths mingling in the air between them.

"Hello?" Abby offered weakly. Tim grinned, as if pitying her innocence, before pulling her in for a kiss.

As his lips met hers, his lips moving hard against hers, Abby grabbed the front of his T-shirt, trying to hold herself up against the onslaught of passion. Her man could kiss. There was no denying that. He possessed her, so powerfully taking her. She didn't realise that he had backed her against the hallway wall until she felt her back solidly, and felt his body hard against hers, and his lips just as demanding. She ran her fingers through his hair as he pulled her closer with a hand on each of her arms. It was messy and passionate. And completely them.

When he withdrew he stared deep into her eyes, the dark clover pools seeming to get even darker and even deeper. As then caught their breath, Abby spoke.

"Well, I hope you don't say hello to everyone like that…"

"You jealous?" Timmy said, and it was in moments like that where Abby knew Tim was spending too much time with DiNozzo. Nothing spoke arrogance (no matter how accurately founded) and overconfidence like that then that kind of cocky sentence, the kind she expected from Tony.

"Well I don't know," Abby said, pretending to think. Then she leant in to whisper in his ear, "would I get to watch?"  
Tim groaned at Abby's teasing tone, trying to stop his imagination from running away from him. But he was a writer after all. And writers never did run out of ideas. He tried to keep his body under control; she was here to decorate his apartment, not anything else. They had been taking things slow, but the temptation that he faced when she was around was so great. They were equal parts love and passion, but sometimes Tim forgot why he was holding back. These times often came after kisses like those. But he was a man of old fashioned values, he may not have a code like Gibbs (who despite being a bastard at times was still one of those men, who live by rules, including "hide the women and children first"), but he did want to show Abby that he wasn't just in this relationship to get into her pants.

When Tim eventually let Abby do, she walked back to the box of decorations on trembling legs, and Tim was filled with something of a manly pride. He was the one who had made her knees tremble. He was the one who put that giant hickey on her… oops. She was going to kill him for that. But then again, what a way to go…

It was an oddly domestic scene. Abby and McGee putting up the Christmas decorations, Abby being carried by Tim to put the star on the top of the tree, chasing Jethro around as he stole the tinsel, and proceeded to run away with it. But when they finally landed on the sofa and put on a movie, Timmy put his arm around Abby and she snuggled in. And there was only one thought on his mind. He was finally home.

"_Marry me, Tony"_

The words had not registered in Tony's mind, but still they had not sunk in. After all he had done, after all that he had said, pushing her away when she needed him the most to fight against her father, he expected her to hit him. Maybe throw a few insults and punches his way. But propose? What was going through her mind to possess her to say that? He could only imagine the emotional turmoil that was going through her mind at that moment. He would not flatter himself that he could read her, but there was something that made him want to know what was in her mind.

He couldn't leave her. That was the only thought that was going through her mind. She had practically told this that he meant nothing to her, but she had to tell him otherwise. She shouldn't have said everything that she had said. She should have told him that there was nothing that she wanted more than him. She never in her life remembered wanting something so badly. But somewhere in the back of her mind, her father's words still imprinted into her mind. Don't trust. Don't rely on anyone. Don't love. And yet in those weeks she had done all of these with Tony. She had never wanted to fall in love with the Special Agent with a charming smile and a kind heart. And yet, fate seemed to have better ideas, and they had been thrust together in a strange twist of fate. They were a mess. She had issues, family shadows and trust issues. He had daddy issues, a messed up childhood and the track record with women so bad it made Gibbs look like the Virgin Mary. Yet they worked. Together.

The pregnant pause was almost too much. Ziva thought Tony was going to bolt, but she did not blame him. She was having similar thoughts herself.

"Isn't that my line?" Tony said at last, his voice low and humourless. But it wasn't his words that terrified her the most. It was the fact for the first time in a long while, he was strictly and deadly serious. This wasn't the same joking Tony who threatened to throw her into a fountain, after which he made the threat a reality, causing them both of them to be thrown out of the park by a disgruntled caretaker. They had run down the street to his apartment, both soaking wet after she pulled him in after him, and laughing. This was the Tony she always remembered. But something had changed.

"Come on, Tony. When have we ever been conventional?" Ziva answered quickly, a ghost of a smile reaching her eyes. Tony smiled softly and lovingly at her, and Ziva was filled with hope. Maybe he wasn't going to push her away.

There was a silence again as the words hung in the space between them.

"Why?"

Tony's question pulled a smile from Ziva. A small sad smile.

"I thought that it would be obvious."  
Tony searched her eyes, trying to find something that he didn't ever know he was looking for. But when he found it, it made up his mind. He finally found the answer to the question that Ziva asked him, all that time ago earlier that evening.

"No."

The shock in Ziva's eyes was tangible. She tried to step back, but all Tony did was step forward to keep the gap between then at the same size.

"What I mean," he said, taking another hesitant step in her direction, "is that I want to do this right. I want to take you out for a meal, a picnic in the countryside. You'd be wearing a white dress, and not a drop of makeup. You'd look out and watch the view, and then you'll look back, and I'd be there, on one knee, just like it is in the movies. And your eyes would light up, and you would say a million times yes."

Ziva's eyes were tearing up, as Tony's eyes begged her to see the picture that he was painting in her mind. It was so beautiful, and said with so much reverence that she wished that it was true. Yet she refused to let the tears fall. Tony had clearly thought this scenario through. But he wasn't finished.

"But knowing us, it would be the hottest day of the year, and you'd be angry and sweaty and I'd have packed all of the wrong food that was not so good out of the fridge for extended periods of time."

"You know," her voice cracked, and the rest of the answer came out a whisper, "the answer would be the same."

Tony's smile grew, until his eyes were wet with emotion.

"Ziva David," he said, walking closer, but this time Ziva did not move away, "Marry me?"

And both of them already knew the reply.

"Yes."


	16. Chapter 16

_**i am so sorry for that! i must have clicked the wrong chapter to upload... sorry :((((( here is what i meant to post :)**_

_**GAAHHHHHHHH! RECORD NUMBER OF REVIEWS FOR ONE CHAPTER! GAHHHHHHH!**_

_**you people are seriously awesome. Like, seriously. THANK YOU!**_  
_**as a thank you/holiday gift, this chapter is VERY long. I didn't intend on it, i just kept at it, and it just kept getting bigger and bigger!  
this chapter is dedicated to Crazy-random-reader of hogwarts who wanted a chapter before their birthday... here you have it! :D**_

_**to say a uber big thank you, I will be uploading a Christmas present for you all on Christmas day, so keep your eyes peeled!**_

_**disclaimer:disclaimed**_

* * *

Chapter 16

It was last thing on a Thursday night when Abby jingled into the squad room, as if there was nothing strange about her outfit. Or at least, that's what she thought. But apparently the world did not share those views.

"What?" Abby said in response to the question that Gibbs didn't ask. He had given her one of those looks, a more affectionate version of the one he normally sent Tony. The one that said "what the hell" loud and clear."

Without giving anyone a chance to say anything, Abby thrust the bag into Gibbs' face.

"Pick one!" she said.

Gibbs gave her another look, before deciding that it was safe to put her hand in their mysterious bag, filled with goodness knows what.

Gibbs unravelled his piece, where he found a name printed on the piece in green and red font. At Gibbs' blank look, Abby rolled her eyes.

"It's secret Santa," and when Gibbs still looked blankly at her she began to explain, "you buy a present for that person, and on Christmas eve we exchange presents, and guess who bought our present, and then we find out!"

Walking over to Tony's desk, Abby offered him the bag of names.

"I put Ziva's name in, do you think she'll mind?" Abby said, for the first time since entering the squad room, she looked more like a hesitant school girl than anything else.

Wordlessly Tony sent her a charming grin, saying everything that he couldn't say in words. That he was sure that Ziva would love to play this game of Abby's. He stuck his hand in, taking two names instead of just the one.

"I'll give it to Ziva tonight."

"No peeking," Abby said.

"But I have to check so she doesn't have herself," Tony said, pretending that there was rational reasoning behind his childish curiosity.

Abby mock glared at him, and it was times like this when Gibbs felt like the father of a few very irritating, very immature children, rather than the leader of a perfectly qualified team of special agents.

Wordlessly he got out of her chair, and motioned at Tony to give him the piece of paper that he and Abby were fighting over. When it landed firmly in his hands, Gibbs sat down and pulled out his glasses to read the name, before handing it back to Tony.

"It's not her," he said.

This seemed to satisfy Abby, but Tony looked a little disgruntled that he could not cheat.

Next Abby reached the front of Timmy's desk. She looked up at him through thick lashes, a look in her eye that was full of promise. Tim looked at her with the same expression, and they stood there intensely making out… with their eyes.

Finally Gibbs had enough of it. Yes, on an average day McGee was barely passable as a mature adult, but he expected a more mature response from at least Tim. Right now, he and Abby were making out like hormonal teenagers, and he didn't like it.

"Eye sex still counts as grab-ass," Gibbs said, glaring at Tim, whose gaze reluctantly left Abby's, and fell to the bag in her hands. Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a name, before looking Abby in the eye one more time, then averting his gaze once again.

"Now where is Ducky…" Abby said, trailing off as she turned the corner and out of sight from the bullpen.

After a few minutes of tapping, Gibbs shut his computer down. Nodding goodnight to the guys, he walked to the elevator and was out of sight. McGee tried to ignore Tony. Until the fact that Tony was leaning so far over his desk, looking towards the elevator became too much.

"What are you doing?"

Tony looked from left to right, before deciding that the coast was clear.

"Who have you got?"

"I'm not telling!" McGee said quickly, indignant that Tony should even insinuate such a thing, "why do you want to know anyway."

But when Tony didn't answer, McGee got his answer already.

"You have Gibbs, don't you."

The statement itself made Tony wince.  
"What do you get the man who wants nothing?"

"He probably wants a better Senior Field Agent," McGee shot back, and Tony sent him a "what the hell" look.

"Not helping, McSmart arse," and then thought about it for a moment, "want to trade?"

"No!" McGee replied, his voice going higher than it probably should have, making Tony's head shoot up to check that Gibbs hadn't heard. McGee rolled his eyes at Tony's paranoia.

"McGee, dude, we're buddies right? We are each other's wingman," Tony started.

"Tony, the answer's still no," McGee said firmly, turning back to his computer to shut it down for the night.

"Just think about it," Tony said, still begging. The smile on McGee's face was clearly something to do with the fact that this time it was Tony begging McGee for the favour.

"I don't have to think about it, the answer will always be no," and then a thought dawned on him, "why don't you just swap with Ziva? She would never know."

"Oh, she'd know. And not to mention Gibbs. He would have me for not playing nicely with his favourite daughter."

McGee smiled as he picked up his things. For once, it was Tony in a mess, and not him.

"Good night, Tony."

"Night probie. Have fun," and then he thought about what he just said, "Second thoughts, don't have fun. Because now that you and Abby are dating…" he shuddered at the thought of who McGiggle would be having fun with.

With a cheeky smirk on his face Tim left, leaving Tony alone in the squad room. Twas the season to be jolly, after all…

oooOOOooo

Tali could hear the hammering on the front door that could only mean that Anthony DiNozzo was at the door. She could hear the shower running in the other room, and sighed. This meant she was going to have to get her lazy bum off her bed and to go answer the door.

"Coming," she yelled loudly, despite the fact she knew that Tony could probably not hear her. Padding down the hallway barefoot, she flung open the door.

"Hey Tony!" she greeted, Tony, all wrapped up in his thick winter coat grinned in response. But even though Tony now spent more time at Ziva's apartment than he did at his own, he still was yet to navigate the uncharted waters that were Ziva's family. Her mother, he could handle. Women over the age of forty seemed to respond to his charm, all he had to do was send them a charismatic grin and be on his best behaviour to get into their good books. However, Tali was certainly not over forty. She was a young, twenty-three year old, but acted childishly in a way that could only be described as the baby of the family. Tony didn't know how to act around her. He had bad experiences with this kind of thing, what with his father going through wives like underwear. There was a plethora of attitudes these large-busted women had towards him. When he was younger, one moment they would try and treat him like he was their son, the next telling him that he could talk to them about anything. Which he hated. When he grew older some tried to treat him like a sibling (which was so wrong, on so many different levels), or friends. Which he hated. No-one quite knew how to deal with him. He was like an awkward extra limb to his father, and eventually even the ones with the biggest, whitest smiles learned to ignore him. Which was better than the alternatives, but not enjoyable. He didn't want to have that kind of relationship with Tali. But it was not like he had any experience to draw on when dealing with her.

"Hey Tali, is Ziva around?" Tony said.

"Yeah sure, she's just in the shower. Come in!" she said, and Tony wiped his feet on the mat, before taking his shoes off and putting them neatly on the shoe mat. Tali almost rolled her eyes at his attitude. It was clear that he regarded her as a ticking time bomb. His awkwardness was a little endearingly cute, and the fact that he was hot was not something that went unnoticed by her (she was only human. It didn't matter that he was almost double her age). She didn't want him to feel awkward though. She wanted him to kick off his shoes when he got in, to comfortably slouch on the couch. He just didn't seem to let himself, at least, not when she was around.

Tony followed Tali into the living room, where Tali flopped onto the couch and switched to television on to cover the deafeningly awkward silence.

"Tali, who was at the…" Ziva said, walking into the room in a towel, and towel drying her hair with another. Her statement trailed off when she saw Tony standing awkwardly in the living room. Tali may have been young and naïve, but she could tell the look that Tony was giving Ziva was not so innocent.

"I'm off…" Tali said, but she was pretty sure neither of them heard her. Sighing, she made to walk out of the room.

"Tali."

Tali turned to see that Ziva's eyes had not left Tony's but she still was talking to her.

"You have forgotten something."

Rolling her eyes Tali walked back over to the TV to switch it off, and left the room. She didn't want to know what was going to happen with those two…

When Tali left the room Ziva and Tony stood there for a moment, their eyes never leaving each other's.

"Hey, fiancée," Tony said, and then both of them winced.

"Wow, that was weird," Tony said, voicing both of their opinions.

"That is going to take some getting used to," Ziva said lowly. Silence engulfed the room again, and Ziva became increasingly aware of her state of undress.

"I am wearing a towel," Ziva said.

"I noticed," Tony said, stepping closer to her.

Without a word, Ziva flung the towel in her hands onto the sofa so only the towel wrapped around her body remained and her hands were free. She used these hands to her advantage, and pulled Tony into a hot wet kiss. Tony reached up to bury his hand in her hair, the wet curls still warm from the shower. His lips moved against her, demanding more from her. His other hand moved to run his fingers up and down her bare shoulder, and Ziva shuddered in response.

"Someone's responsive," Tony murmured into her ear, before sucking and biting his way down the long smooth column of her neck.

"And who may that be?" Ziva said, pretending to play dumb before Tony stroked the back of her neck, and she could not help but let out a gasp. Which was followed but a number of sharp intakes of breath as his lips found her other sensitive spots. Ziva felt her knees buckle under the pressure, and she would have fallen, had she not the desire to keep his lips exactly where they were.

Eventually their lips made their way back to each other, and after a final lingering kiss, they withdrew. Catching their breaths, Ziva was the first one to speak.

"I am in a towel," Ziva repeated, but this time her words were softer and heavier. Tony almost didn't register the words, too distracted by looking at her swollen red lips. That red was better than any colour that he had seen on girls anywhere. That combined with her heavy eye lids was more beautiful that any make-up that Ziva could be wearing.

"I noticed," he replied, but his elevator eyes ran up and down her body, saying everything that he hadn't.

"I should, go get out of this towel," Ziva said, her voice dropping lower.

"Can I help?" Tony said, and Ziva smiled.

"If you come and help me, dinner will never happen."

Tony finally let go of her.

"Be right back," Ziva said. And Tony couldn't remember the last time those three words sounded more suggestive and full of promise.

Five minutes and a pair of pyjamas later (with penguins on them), Ziva returned to the living room. But in her defence to Tony's incredulous look, it was the season.

As Ziva pulled out a lasagne from the freezer, Tony filled Ziva in with the latest events at the office.

"… and now I have to find something for Gibbs. Gibbs, of all people. You know, I had a one in seven chance of getting Gibbs. That's less that 15% chance, but still, I got him."

"Why don't you get him a photo album with photographs of the team in it?" Ziva said. In the limited time she had spent with Gibbs by Tony's bedside, she could tell he was not an overly sentimental man. But he did consider the team to be his family, and he was a family man, who would appreciate something small like a photo album.

Thinking about it, Tony began to dream up how good an idea that truly was. He could honour those who had fallen in it, Paula, Jenny, and give Gibbs memories of them in photo form.

"I knew there was a reason why I'm marrying you," Tony said, and this time it was only Ziva who winced at it. Catching his quizzical look, she answered him.

"I am sorry. But it is going to take a little bit getting used to."

"You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

"No, no!" Ziva said shocked, her eyes wide with the mere thought of it, "No, never. It is just something new."

"But something good, right," Tony asked, his head tilted to one side.

"Something very good," Ziva said, her smile growing with every passing second. But it was time for a subject change, "so, where's my name?"

Digging around in his pocket he found the folded name that had tempted him the whole of the way to Ziva's place. But just as he had said to McGee, Ziva would have known if he had looked. Handing her the piece, Ziva did not open it at first, but regarded him with a steely eye. She was clearly checking to see if he had peaked, but eventually she decided that he was innocent. Unrolling the paper, she took a look at the paper and smiled.

"Who did you get?" Tony said, the suspense killing him.

"I thought that the whole point of this was to be secret."

The sigh that Tony gave rivalled the kind she heard from Tali when she was going through her "hormonal teenage years".

Ziva turned to the oven, bending over to switch the oven on and put the name down on the counter. Tony was _so _tempted to look, but before he could decide whether or not to risk it, he caught sight of Ziva all bent over.

"I think we are missing something…" she muttered under her breath.

"Not from this angle we're not," Tony replied, and Ziva straightened up and glared at him.

"Garlic bread," she said, fully aware of what Tony was saying.

"I don't think Tali likes me," Tony said, and Ziva tilted her head quizzically at this abrupt change in topic. But, going with it, she replied.

"What makes you think that?"

"I don't know, she just doesn't seem to like me…"

"Have you asked her?"

"No…"

"Tony," Ziva said, moving to stand right in front of him, "My little sister is incapable of disliking anyone. She is too loving to do such a thing."

"OK, so she doesn't _dislike _me. But she does not like me."

Ziva's nose screwed up, something that Tony noticed she did when she got confused with the English language.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Ziva asked.

"I don't know! That's why I told you!"

"Well, if it is any consolation," Ziva started, her hands planted on her hips seductively," I like you," and she pulled him into a kiss.

Tali was heading to the kitchen to refill her cup when she heard her name being mentioned in the conversation. So, naturally, she flattened herself against the wall, pretending that she was some super awesome spy, so she could listen in on the conversation.

"I don't think Tali likes me." Tony's voice floated around the corner. _Where was he getting this from?_ Tali thought to herself. She always knew that Tony was nervous around her, but was that because she was his girlfriend/fiancée's kid sister.

"What makes you think that?" Ziva's voice joined the unseen conversation. Ziva was clearly thinking along the same lines as Tali.

"I don't know, she just doesn't seem to like me…"

"Have you asked her?"

"No…" Ha. So she had never said that she didn't like him, he just assumed.

"Tony," Ziva said, moving to stand right in front of him, "My little sister is incapable of disliking anyone. She is too loving to do such a thing." Tali couldn't help thinking that it was kind of cute that Ziva was saying that kind of thing about her.

"OK, so she doesn't dislike me. But she does not like me."

"Well, what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know! That's why I told you!"

"Well, I like you," Ziva said, and much to Tali's disgust she heard the sound of two people stuck in a very intimate lip-lock. Gross.

Tali was glad she had overheard this conversation. Now she knew about Tony's thoughts, she could do something about it.

The three of them were sat at the dinner table, an awkward silence blanketing the table. Ziva was silent because she appreciated silence, in a way that her sister could never understand. Tali was silent because she was pondering her next move. Tony was silent because his mouth was so full of lasagne.

"So, why do you think I don't like you?" Tali decided that the way to tackle this was head on. After all, she was her mother's daughter.

Tony almost spat out his mouthful. How had she even heard his conversation with Ziva? Mini-Ziva was a chip off the old block.

"Ha!" Tony barked, trying to use humour to diffuse the seriousness of the situation, "when you say that, there isn't anything… well…"

Ziva decided to take pity on her Tony.

"Is he wrong?" she said, reaching under the table to take Tony's hand.

"Yes. I do like him," Tali stated simply.

"Why?" Ziva said.

"He had a cool taste in movies."

To say that Tony was shocked was an understatement.

"I'm glad someone in this house appreciates my good taste," Tony said, and Ziva punched him in the arm, then soothed him.

"I appreciate your taste," Ziva said, and leaned over to kiss him. But before she could Tali spoke.

"OK, keep in PG-13."

"Tali, you're twenty three years old."

"And?"

Tony had to laugh at the sisters' antics. They were a family. And there was no-one he would rather spend Christmas with.


	17. Chapter 17

**_IT'S CHRISTMAS! :D :D :D_**  
**_WOOOO!_**

**_here is my Christmas present to you! Thank you, all of you for all the reviews, favourites, and follows. I wasn't really very confident with my writing (you only have to look at my first chapter of my first fanfic to see that), but thanks to you all, I now write with a confidence! You people motivate me, and I am eternally grateful that you would give up some of your time to review little old me._**

**_have a wonderful Christmas Day, wherever you may be in the world_**

**_thegirlnextdoor101_**

**_Disclaimer: the characters are not mine. but the plot is! ;)_**

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Chapter 17

Tim answered the door to his apartment while pulling on his grey winter coat and slipping his shoes on.

"Timmy!"

Tim hurriedly finished pulling on his jacket, fully aware that he was about to be hit by hurricane Abby. He anchored himself firmly to the ground, and sure to his prediction Abby launched herself into his awaiting arms at full speed.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Abby said into his neck, and Tim grinned. It certainly was a Merry Christmas, especially now that she was there.

"Should we go?" he said, and Abby grinned. She pulled his arm around her and off they went.

The food kitchen was busier than it normally was, but the number of volunteers were as high as the Christmas spirit. It was Tim's first time at this kind of thing, and to say he was surprised would have been on understatement. He was not aware of the number of people that were in need of a hot meal, even in the city, the place where work seemed to be all that happened. The numbers on a page did not justice to the scale of the people, all politely waiting in line to be served a meal. But he was glad to do something.

"Here, you have to put this on, it's compulsory," a voice from his right floated to him, and he turned to see a girl, who couldn't have been more than twenty years old, pushing a Santa hat into his face.

"Thanks," he said pulling it over his head. He was there, he may as well go along with it all…

"Hey, McGee, I've got us some…"

He turned to see Abby carrying two identical hats in her hands. But when she saw the figure next to Tim, her face lit up.

"Hey you!" she said, closing the few metres between them quickly and pulling the girl into a hug.

"McGee, this is Sandy. She runs this thing," Abby said, pulling away from the hug but keeping her arms looped around this girl's waist.

"Hi," he said putting his hand out to shake hers.

"So _this _is the reason you haven't been clubbing with us in a while," Sandy said, looking McGee up and down with appreciating eyes, "I guess that's fair enough."

This wasn't something that McGee was familiar with, it was the kind of attention that Tony got, not him. But having said that, he couldn't say that he didn't like it.

"So, what you two standing there for, get to work!" Sandy said letting go at Abby. Grinning Abby tugged at Tim's arms and they did just that.

oooOOOooo

Tony shivered against the frosty air. Standing at Ziva's door, he willed her to get to the door faster, to save him freezing off an appendage that he had a liking to. It was Christmas day. All around children were gleefully trying out new toys for the first time, as parents and grandparents frantically worried over the wellbeing of their roasted turkey in the oven. The joy in the air was as thick as the smell of cooking, and despite the fact Tony was risking losing something, there was a childish smile that threatened to escape.

The door was thrown over a few moments by none other than Ziva herself. With her hair down and curly, a thick royal red winter jumper on and a thick pair of leggings hugging her shapely legs, she looked every part of the festivities.

"Hey," Tony greeted her, pulling her into a kiss. But this embrace was cut short by Ziva pulling away, much to Tony's distaste.

"I need to go check on the t-"

But she was cut off, as Tony fully intended to finish what he started, and he pressed his lips against hers. After a few moments Ziva seemed to resign herself that she was not going to get away any time soon, and pulled his neck down so she could get his head exactly the way she wanted it.

"ZIVA THE GRAVY'S ON FIRE!"

That was enough to pull her out of her daze. A look of sheer panic crossed Ziva face, and before Tony could do anything Ziva was out of his arms and halfway down the hallway. Cursing, Tony followed her few steps behind, until he drew up behind her in the kitchen doorway. However the panic in his eyes soon changed to one of amusement.

Tali was stood there leaning up against the counter, next to the pot of gravy that was clearly no on fire. She was gripping the edge of the counter, her knuckles white as she tried to hold herself up as she laughed so hard that her had turned silent, only punctuated with sharp intakes of breath. Her eyes were watering as she chuckled loudly but Ziva's face was not so amused. If thunder had begun to come out of Ziva's eyes, it would not make Ziva's gaze any icier.

"Don't even joke about that," Ziva said coldly, but this only fuelled Tali's laughter. Tony had to bite back a grin that threatened to take over his whole face. And despite the fact Ziva had her back to him, she seemed to sense his mood, and turned her wrath on him.

"Don't you encourage her."

"Ziva, you have got to lighten up," Tali said, having apparently found her voice again. But at the scathing look Ziva sent her, she lost it again, and she was laughing uncontrollably. Ziva turned back to Tony, rolling her eyes at her sister's actions. She was a lost cause.

"She does have a point…" Tony said, trying to be serious, but knowing that if it came to it, he would break just like Tali.

"You're not cooking for your mother, sister, fiancé and aunt!" Ziva said, her voice cutting higher than normal.

Tony decided that it was time to do something about the situation.

"Sit," he ordered, pushing her into one of the tall chairs at the breakfast bar.

"I need to stir the…" Ziva protested but Tony cut her off.

"It's not on the heat. It will be fine," Tony said, and Ziva sighed deeply. Tali took this as her cue to leave.

When Tony was satisfied that Ziva was properly relaxed, he pulled her hair over her right shoulder, and pressed his large hands gently into the tops of her shoulders.

Ziva could fell his long slender fingers pinch and work the tops of her shoulders, skilfully forcing her tightly pulled tendons to relax under his hands.

"Relax."

She felt the words across her bare shoulder, and shuddered at the feeling of the words on her skin. She had never known that this part of her was such a sensitive point, but apparently Tony did, and was using it to his advantage. Her eyes fluttered shut, but that did nothing to shield her from the onslaught of emotion that she felt. She had never remembered feeling so full of desire before, she had never wanted something so bad. Her body and mind were for once in agreement over their longing for Tony. He set her nerves aflame, and never had she ever wanted to be consumed by the fire so badly than she did when Tony was around.

His fingers moved down her back, now encasing her shoulder blades, and she shuddered as he hit a particularly sensitive nerve. If he continued the way he was going, she was going to turn around and have her way with him, lunch be damned.

Tony felt Ziva pushing against the floor to pivot herself around on the chair. There was a pink blush that was littered across her head, confirming his suspicions that Ziva was getting just a little bit worked up by his fingers on her body. That combined with the tiny sighs and intakes of breath that he suspected Ziva herself did not know she was emitting. For the first time, Tony was looking up at Ziva, her chair giving her superior height in comparison to him. And she clearly was going to use it to her advantage. Which he was fine with, because it turned out that what was to her advantage was also to his advantage.

Crushing her lips forcibly against his, if Tony had any doubts about what Ziva wanted, he was put right by this. She seemed desperate to feel him against her, pulled her legs so they lay around his waist, and using her hands to pull him in further. Tony felt shivers course down his neck as she fisted her hands into his hair, as if needing something to grab onto in the storm of passion.

The chime of the doorbell broke the two of them out of their trance, Ziva's eyes wild with the knowledge that they almost got too carried away. Her lips were slightly swollen and her cheeks tinged pink, looking all in all thoroughly loved.

"Maybe I should get that," Tony said, motioning at her. Ziva smiled uncharacteristically shyly at him, and Tony's grin widened as he left the kitchen, happy with the knowledge that he was the one to put that smile on her face.

"Tony!" he heard Ziva from the other room. Tony stuck his head back in, "You have lipstick… just there," Ziva said motioning to her own lip. Tony smiled gratefully and rubbed the spot, while walking down the hallway to get the door.

The meal had been perfect, much to Ziva's relief and everyone had commented on how enjoyable the meal was. After an epic fight between all of the David women over who was going to do the washing up (save Tali, who had left the table to watch some bad Christmas TV as soon as someone else had claimed they would do the washing), they settled around the tree to open presents. Tali reminded him of Abby as she attacked her presents childishly (there was something about the way Tali used that knife with such skill that scared him just like Abby did…). When they had reached the final presents Tony cleared his breath awkwardly.

"I have something for you Ziva," he said, standing so he could face Ziva on the couch. And much to her surprise, he dropped to one knee and pulled a black box out of his pocket.

Despite the fact she already considered them to be engaged, she always assumed that they would just go and but an engagement ring together, they had enough drama already without an elaborate proposal. But no drama was not Tony's style.

"Marry me?" Tony asked, looking Ziva straight in the eyes. Ziva's smile was so bit it was close to cracking her face in two.

"What no speech?" Tali said.

"Tali, I think Tony and I have said enough words on the matter already," Ziva said, not breaking eye contact with Tony, as they both remembered the heated argument that had led to all of this, "and yes."

Tony did not wait for her to stand up, but crushed his lips against hers. That was the answer he was looking for.

oooOOOooo

It wasn't Gibbs' idea to have the team over after lunch on the Christmas day. But Abby had asked, and Abby normally got what she wanted eventually, so he hadn't offered any kind of resistance. Not that had had anything better to do on Christmas Day. He had called Jackson in Stillwater in the morning to wish him a Merry Christmas, and had visited Shan and Kelly's graves in the morning. Now all he had to do was wait for the team to arrive.

Kate was the first to arrive, looking slightly frazzled, which she explained was to do with having all of the Todds in one house. Which was as crazy as it sounded, especially when she had psychotic brothers. She also mentioned something about being glad that Christmas only happened once a year, which was something that he had to agree with.

The next came Tony and Ziva, who had straight from lunch and her house. Gibbs was surprised to notice the delicate ring on Ziva's left hand, but didn't mention anything, instead waiting for Tony or Ziva to mention it.

As his team began to fill his house and beers and glasses were passed around, the laughter and chatter made Gibbs remember Christmases all that time ago with Shannon and Kelly. That was probably the last time he had ever had the house full with so much Christmas cheer and he had missed it. Not that he would admit that out loud, even if someone had held a gun to his head.

The sound of a spoon on a glass (when the hell had she sneaked out to get a spoon?) brought the attention back to Abby.

"I have, I believe all of the presents, so I hereby commence the beginning of the Secret Santa giving," she said, her antler's bobbing up and down with every word.

Tony's gift was first, and the shape of the wrapper kind of gave it away.

"A guitar!? Awesome!"

It was a sandblast wood acoustic, and by the look of it, it was not cheap.

"I didn't know you played?"Kate said.

"Well somebody clearly did…" Tony said, starting to tune it there and there, "Ziva, is this from you?"  
"Guess again," McGee said, and Tony looked surprised.

"You?"

McGee nodded affirmative, and Tony's grin grew.

"Thanks McSanta." It was amazing how sincere he was being, despite what his words were.

McGee was next, and to his surprised to see that what appeared to be a box shaped present was in fact an empty box with a note in the bottom saying "your present is at your house."

"Abby?" Tim said quizzically, but Abby was as confused as he was. It was Gibbs' smirk that gave him away.

"Gibbs? Ermm… Thank you…"

Gibbs internally grinned at the young man's nervousness. Despite the years that McGee had at NCIS, he didn't seem to be able to shake the Probie title. But with good reason. McGee may be all macho in Abby's presence, but he still had long way to go. But Gibbs was proud of how far McGee had come since joining NCIS, and his pride was something that was not easily earned.

Gibbs opened his wrapped parcel, and saw surprised to find a book. On closer inspection, it was a photo album, and as he flicked through the first few pages he recognised some of the faces that were no longer in his life. His secret Santa had clearly put a great deal of thought into this gift, something that he was thankful for.

"Duck?" Gibbs asked, but Ducky shook his head, surprising Gibbs.

"Hey boss," Tony said almost guiltily, and to say Gibbs was shocked was an understatement. However, he suspected that Ziva had had a say in this particular present.

The presents came thick and fast, with Abby now _wearing_ her gift (Gibbs wondered how Ziva managed to find a pink and black skull and cross bone onesie…). Ziva had been pleased with the scores to some of her favourite musicals (who knew Palmer had such good taste?) and Kate had already asked if Ducky would accompany her to the musical that he had bought her tickets to see. As it turned out, Ducky received a very nice bow tie, and he accepted Kate's offer, saying how he would have the opportunity to exhibit said tie, which was ironically bought by Kate.

Ziva was sat at on one of Gibbs' couches, observing the scene in front of her. The team were as good as family and she didn't want to intrude on it. She knew that Abby and Gibbs accepted her, but she had spent relatively little time around the rest of them, and did not really know how she fit into this motley band of misfits. The final presents were being passed around, (Jimmy practically attacked Abby with joy when he opened his present to find a NCIS badge and fake ID that looked pretty damn realistic. Jimmy had once expressed his desire to be a NCIS Special Agent, and now he could at least pretend to be), and it was in that mix that Ducky noticed her newly acquired piece of jewellery.

"My dear, is there something you and Tony would like to share?" Ducky said in his usual charming manner. This drew the attention from the rest of the room, and Ziva almost laughed at the shock that registered in their faces. But as people began to swarm over her, to examine the ring, and to congratulate them both, Ziva couldn't remember why she had felt like an outsider…

* * *

**_so there you go! i hope you have a great day, and please review! :)_**


	18. Chapter 18

**_hello my little marshwiggles!_**

**_Thank you for the review and follows, and I'm glad you liked the Christmas episode. wow, imagine if NCIS did a Christmas episode full of fluff and aired it on Christmas day! kinda like the Dr Who Christmas special! :D OK, focussing..._**  
**_so, here is the next installment. I'm not too sure about this chapter, so your reviews would mean A LOT to me on this one._**

* * *

Chapter 18

"FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, LEAVE ME ALONE!"  
Tony didn't know what he was walking in on when he came to pick Ziva up for dinner that night. But when he heard Tali's voice from the other room, he knew that there was something along the lines of World War Three going down. And he was just about to walk straight into the firing zone.

"Tali, come back here!"

He heard Ziva's voice from further back into the apartment, but the words did nothing to stop Tali's path straight to her room. Tali did not even acknowledge Tony as she pushed past him, slamming the door to her bedroom loudly.

"Ok then," Tony said mostly to himself. Walking into the kitchen he saw Ziva sitting on the sofa, her eyes closed taking a few calming breaths. She was still in her dance gear, and Tony was pleased with himself that he only noticed how well her trousers hugged her ass after he noticed how miserable she looked.

"What was all that about?" he asked motioning in the direction of Tali's room, then leaning down to peck her quickly on the lips. Ziva's eye remained closed, but she let out a sigh. There was a silence as Ziva tried to find the right words.

"She wants to move in with her boyfriend. I said I wanted to meet him first," Ziva said, paraphrasing the past half an hour's argument. But in reality, there was far much more to it than that…

_Half an hour earlier_

_Ziva had just finished off her day at the studio, and as she pushed open her front door, there was nothing she wanted to do more than collapse onto the sofa and not move for an age. Her competition class had been particularly stubborn today, and not one, but two of her soloists had pulled out, just days before the competition. Ziva couldn't blame one of them, if you had a broken foot, you had a broken foot, and even if she screamed herself black and blue, it would still be broken. The one that really annoyed her was the little girl whose mother had fallen out with one of the other mothers, and now refused to take her child to the competition. That was the only part of her job that she didn't like. These women thought that they were in some reality television show, not real life. But at moments like these, Ziva wished these characters were as pretend as the ones on TV. That way, she could just press a button, and they would be gone. But real life didn't work like that, and despite the fact she loved her job and would not trade it for the world, she was more than ready to return home for the night. And the thing was with these competitions, a thing that this mother failed to understand was that with all the money that had been ploughed into entry fees, was non-refundable. Ziva was desperately trying to find someone to fill in. So, somewhat reluctantly, she had chosen Abigail to be her other soloist. A decision that she later grew to regret. Abigail was a talented dancer, there was no doubt about that, but she was just so _irritating_. There was just didn't seem to want to dance for all of the right reasons. That, and she was incapable of showing any emotions while dancing. Walking in, she radiated confidence and happiness, but when she began to dance, it became about technique and getting from A to B, rather than telling a story. Which drove Ziva insane. She had given Abigail a lyrical set, but was seriously considering choreographing something different for the competition on Saturday. But the only thing was it was Thursday. Giving Abigail a day to get the new routine down. And that was only provided she managed to choreograph something that she herself deemed worthy of putting on a stage. There was also the added pressure that her group dance was going down-hill._

_Having said that, it hadn't been all that day of a day. Somehow one of her couches had learnt of her engagement, and between classes they had surprised her with cake and presents. Her personal favourite was a silver wristband with "Property of Ziva David, touch and die" engraved on it. She was even more excited to see it on Tony that evening…_

_Ziva could feel a head ache coming on as thoughts came crashing into her mind. Trying to shush all of the voices and music she massaged her temples firmly. She knew that she should be getting off her bum, Tali mentioned that she would be home for dinner, so she would have to start cooking at some point. But at that moment, the sofa was so comfortable. And speaking of the devil, Tali entered the room. _

"_Ziva, I'm moving in with Finn," Tali said, not ever greeting Ziva. Tali had clearly thought that the best way to announce this piece of news was quickly, to make the pain go away quicker. Like a band aid._

"_What?!" Ziva said, her eyes shooting open. Now she was awake, "who is Finn?"_

"_My boyfriend," Tali said, refusing to look Ziva in the eye but flopping down on the sofa next to her. _

"_You have a boyfriend?" Ziva said before she could stop the words coming out of her mouth. Maybe that was a bad move. She knew that Tali had boyfriends in the past, but she was unaware that Tali was dating someone at the moment. _

"_I do. And I am moving in with him."_

"_Tali, what is this all about," Ziva said slowly. There must have been something that had brought this on, it wasn't just a decision that people make irrationally. And even if it wasn't an event that brought this issue up, it must have been something that was brewing for a while now._

"_I am twenty-three, I can do what I want!" _

"_Can I meet this man?" _

"_Don't you get it? I'm moving out, what more is there to get? You don't have to meet him!" Tali said standing up, talking as if she had not heard Ziva's words. _

"_Tali, is it too much for me to ask to meet this man?" Ziva said, trying to calm Tali down, as her sister's voice grew higher and higher in pitch and volume. But Ziva's fiery nature, just like Tali's, was hard to choke down, and that combined with the bad day she was having did not help the situation. _

"_Why do you have to? Don't you trust me?" _

"_Tali, don't be like that…" Ziva started, pushing herself to sitting. But she was cut off by Tali. _

"_Don't be like what? I am twenty-three years old Ziva! I live with my big sister, and I have a part time job with at my big sister's studio. I am basically a failure in life, who relies one hundred percent on her family."_

_This declaration shocked Ziva for a moment into silence. _

"_Tali…" _

_But Tali wasn't finished._

"_It's alright for you, with your perfect job and your perfect Tony. Ima is doing well and even Ari has a girlfriend."_

"_Ari has a girlfriend?" Ziva said, and then she could have kicked herself. Of all the details she chose to pick up on, that was the one?_

"_Do you only care about that?"_

"_Tali, you're being stupid-"_

"_Oh, so now I'm a stupid failure thanks sister," Tali laughed humourlessly.  
"I never said that," Ziva said, now on the defensive, "you are so annoying, why can't you just grow up?"_

_There was a silence as Ziva's words resonated off the walls. _

"_Tali, that wasn't…"_

"_I'll be packing."_

"_Tali, come back here…"_

"_FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

Tony silently sat where Tali had been a few moments ago, not wishing to disturb Ziva's thinking space. But DiNozzo's were not generally known for their subtly.

"She is twenty-three…"

"I know she is! But it doesn't mean I don't care for her!" Ziva said raising her voice. And then she realised that it was probably this temper of hers that got her into this hot mess to begin with. She took a deep breath, "sorry."

Tony didn't say anything, but waited for Ziva to speak. He knew by now that at times like this, if he were to just wait it out, she would crack. She was kind of like Abby, in that strange way…

"She said she was a failure. Did _I _make her feel like that?"

"Should I go and ask her?" Tony said, and before Ziva could answer him he walked out, content on finding Tali.

In the short distance between the living room and the bedroom, he had to think up his battle strategy in double time. Should he be the mad fiancé, angry that she dare hurt his Ziva? Or should he be the cool older brother, calm and supportive? Whatever his decision was going to be, he was going to have to make it quickly.

He pushed open the door to Tali's bedroom, hesitantly but solidly and took in the sight before him. He had only even been in this room once, and that time he was so scared about losing Ziva that he had not paused to take in the finer details. It was a fairly small L-shaped room, with a large metal framed desk taking up most of the space. That combined with the large bed meant that there was very little other space on the floor, which was where Tali was sat with a large suitcase lying open in front of her, trying to wipe away the tears as they fell.

"What do you want?" Tali said, frantically trying to keep her voice at a set pitch. But despite her greatest efforts, the wobble that came with the tears was still there.

"Well, that is a good question," Tony said good naturedly, sitting himself down on her bed and making himself at home. He had never failed to do that, "I want to marry Ziva. I want to buy her a big nice house. I want grow old with her, and maybe make a few mutant dancing ninjas along the way." Tali smiled at his final sentence.

"What do _you _want?" he said, his voice suddenly changing to be serious. Tali took a breath and stopped shoving clothes in her bag.

"You know," she started, not looking at Tony but laughing, as if to and at herself, "I used to think that when I was twenty-three I would be in control of my life. I thought I would have a steady boyfriend, a job, I would have found something I really wanted to do in life," she paused to laugh and dry her eyes, "it turns out I'm still just as clueless as I have always been."

"And moving out of here is the answer?"

"Any other ideas?" Tali shot back, and Tony got a glimpse of how the two sisters were the same. They both had that fiery wit and quickness of tongue that made Tony smile.

"You must know something you want to do. Something that you enjoy," Tony said.

"Does being a professional couch potato count?" at Tony's look she changed her answer, "yes, I do. But it will not happen in a million years."

"What will not happen?"

"I want to sing," Tali said, as if conveying some dirty secret.

Tony didn't know whether he was surprised by this or not. Tali was a good singer, he had heard her on several occasions when she was just singing around the house. And Ziva had mentioned that Tali used to want to sing, until she gave up her dream.

"Then what is stopping you?" Tony asked.

"Who am I to succeed singing?" Tali said dryly, and Tony finally found the root of all of Tali's insecurities. Failure. She was scared of being a failure to herself, her family, him. No matter how she looked externally, no matter how much confidence she exuded, she lacked in the confidence where Ziva clearly had it in swathes. Ziva had started her own business at a young age, and now had dozens of people working under her. Tony could only imagine what it would be like for Tali to live under the weight of that expectation.

Choosing his next words carefully, he spoke, "Well, the worst thing that could happen from trying is that you do not succeed. Which will be, the same outcome as not trying in the first place. So, basically, you may as well try?" He knew that his points weren't the most eloquently put together, but he hadn't had to give too many motivational speeches in his time. Especially to girls about what they should do with their lives. The closest thing he'd had to this was getting his old wingman psyched up before a big game. Which didn't even come close.

Tali was silent for a few moments, and Tony feared that he had overstepped the boundary that they had so tenuously drawn. But when she spoke, his fears were erased.

"Thank you, Tony."

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**_hmmmm... :/ thoughts?_**


	19. Chapter 19

**_hello!_**

**_so, I have felt that for the past few chapters my writing hasn't been so great, and my muse kind of left me, taking me with it. But for some reason he returned (why is my muse a he? sure it is an it, because it doesn- FOCUS BRAIN), and for some reason the chapter just came to me! So I would love to know what you think, is this better? are you still reading? do you enjoy the story? also, I'm still kind of undecided on the Kari vs. Kibbs thing, so in your review please tell me what you think!_**

**_enjoy!_**

**_disclaimer: not mine. :((((_**

* * *

Chapter 19

Ziva stepped out of the studio into the cold evening air with an unseasonable smile on her face. Despite the icy chill that threatened to freeze her face off, it had been a good day. The competition had gone well; Abigail had performed her heart out, and for the first time Ziva had seen actual emotion on her face when she danced. And from such a talented dancer, it made the performance not just bearable, but enjoyable. And her sentiments had been shared with the judges, who awarded her with the overall high score for her age division. To say Abigail was happy was the understatement of the century. Her great evening was topped off when a girl who couldn't have been more than six years old came up to her shyly, and timidly told her that it was an honour to meet "Ms David" in person. Her mother, who Ziva had assumed had something to with the whole production (she had seen some crazy stage mums in her time…) found the daughter and started scolding her for running off, and all the girl could say was "but I saw Ms David" and Ziva melted. The mother introduced herself, and after a quick conversation Ziva gave her a business card for the studio, saying how the child was welcome any time, whether she wants to dance for fun or competitively. The child was almost beside herself with happiness, as she clutched the card with glee.

Ziva turned to lock up the studio now relieved of the stacks of CDs and random props she brought to the competition, and braced herself for the walk to the bus station. Her car was at the garage, and Tali said something about having "stuff to do", so she was fully prepared for the brisk ten minute walk. That was until she spotted a lone car in the car park.

It was a bright candy-apple red Ford '32 Deuce Coupe, the colour alone against the dark city skyline was enough to make it stand out from a mile away. The ostentatious image was completed with the plate "4NS CHIK" emblazoned for all the world to see. And then the window rolled down, and a very familiar head popped out.

"Get in. I'll explain on the way!" Tali said, the excitement radiating in her eyes as bright as the fluorescent floodlights of the car park.

"Tali?" Ziva said. She couldn't remember ever being to confused, "whose car is this?"

"Mine!"

It was only then that Ziva noticed Abby in the driver's seat, her head now stretched so she was next to Tali.

"Abby?"Ziva said, so if she was confused before, her mind was thoroughly blown now, "Tali, what is going on?"

"We're going to Ima's for dinner!" Tali said, as if it were obvious.

"And why is Abby coming with us to mum's for dinner?" Ziva said, still not following.

"She invited her," Tali stated. Ziva gave her a look to say that she still didn't follow.

"Mum wants to go over wedding plans, and seeing as most of the ideas that she's had e-mailed over were from Abby, she suggested that she come," Tali said slowly, as if talking to a slow child.

After Tali finished her little speech she grinned wildly at Ziva. Abby, who had a similar expression on her face added to the already surreal situation. So much so that Ziva decided what the heck, and popped the door open of the back seat. Which was where she got her next surprise.

"Kate?"

"Abby," Kate said in the way of explanation, and Ziva just made an understanding noise. What Kate didn't tell Ziva was that it wasn't all Abby's begging that got her there. It was more to do with the looks a certain team leader was giving her at that moment, that made her want to run a mile, but also made her want to go over there and…

"Where's Tony?" Ziva said. There was one half of their partnership that was missing for this ordeal. And if she had to go through this, then sure so did he.

"He said something about not wanted to be in a house with the craziest people he knew," Abby said brightly, and Ziva's eyes narrowed. She had to remember to give his a hard time about that later…

As Ziva settled into the back seat, she poked Tali in the back.

"Get in, I'll explain on the way?" Ziva said quoting Tali's previous words, "you have been spending for too long around Tony's movie collection."

The laughter from the car rivalled the blaring sounds of car horns from the rest of the world.

One short car ride, three songs (all sung at the tops of their voices. Of at least, Abby and Tali's, while Kate and Ziva watched on highly amused) and two near misses later they arrived at Rivka's house, where she welcomed them all with open arms and trays of home-baked lasagne. They all took their seats at Rivka's long dining table that was formerly filled to the brim with David children. But now, the inhabitants were much older, and the conversation was less to do with the smelly boys who pulled her daughters pigtails because he liked her, and more… mature.

"So how is it going with Finn?" Rivka asked as the table fell silent, each person with their mouth too full of delicious food to accommodate conversation.

"You know about Finn?" Ziva said. Unfortunately her mouth still contained lasagne, and the sight was not the most flattering.  
"Swallow your food before you speak," Rivka scolded, and Tali stuck her tongue out at Ziva. For once it was Ziva getting told off, and not Tali. Which seemed to displease Ziva greatly, who glowered at her in retaliation.

"Who's Finn?" Abby said, hurtling herself headfirst into this family matter. Kate was quieter in her observation, eating her food politely, but doing little in the way of talking. Ziva noted this mentally, and decided that she was going to have to talk to the woman later. She had not really had a chance to connect with Kate, but from the way Tony saw Kate, and the sisterly admiration that filled Abby's face whenever she looked Kate's way made it clear that this was a woman that she wanted on her side.

"Finn," Ziva said, over pronouncing his name, "is Tali's secret boyfriend."

As Abby squealed in excitement, Tali had to shout to be heard over it.

"Just because you don't know about it doesn't mean it was a secret," Tali shot back. There was little malice behind the words, the fiery debate had been them from the beginning when they were both small.

"Girls," Rivka said firmly, and that effectively shut the two of them up.

"So, who is he," Abby said, scraping her fork against the side of the plate to get the last bit of lasagne. Damn, this stuff was good.

"Well, we've been dating for a month now-"

"A month!" Ziva said shocked. Her sister had been dating someone for this long and she hadn't heard anything about it?!

"It started when Tony got shot. You had plenty better things to occupy your mind at that time," Tali said firmly, and Ziva grudgingly had to agree with her logic. And then a thought popped into her mind.

"Have you told Ari about him?"

The loud Hebrew curse that Tali emitted answered Ziva's question. She defiantly wanted to be around when Hurricane Ari hit. This should be interesting.

"And when do we get to meet him?" Abby interjected. Ziva was surprised at the way that Abby had interjected herself into her family. But Abby and Tali seemed to get on like a house on fire, and there was nothing that Ziva liked more than to see her sister happy. So naturally, she did not object.

"Whenever," Tali said, and the subject ended.

The dinner dishes were cleaned and stacked, and at some point in the evening the party had migrated from the warm glow of the kitchen to living room. There they all sat, Tali and Abby squeezed onto a sofa with a number of bridal magazines balanced precariously on their laps, Ziva one the recliner and Kate perched on the loveseat. Tali's and Abby's excitement mounted with every turn of the page, and they were only on the first magazine. Maybe it had something to do with the bottle of red wine that her mum had opened once dinner had finished…

"Right, coming through," Rivka said, brandishing her own glass and the rest of the bottle, as she entered the living room. She then proceeded to sit herself down next to Kate, who was sipping her wineglass delicately, and looked slightly out of place.

"So, I had a list somewhere of things we still needed to organise…" Rivka said, shuffling around to look for the notepad. Kate, who spotted the paper when she first entered the room like the good special agent she was, retrieved the paper for her, to Rivka's delight.

"Thank you dear," Rivka said affectionately, "Now, Ziva-"

But she was promptly cut off by the shrill buzz of her mobile phone. Looking at the caller ID, she smiled.

"It's Tony. I should take this," Ziva said, moving to the kitchen for some privacy.

"Ask his whether he wants in mint cream or honey dew!" Rivka yelled at Ziva's retreating figure. Was it her imagination, or did Ziva's steps become a tiny bit quicker after those words.

"Hey," Ziva said picking up the phone. The tipsy chatter of the living room was just a dull roar in the background. Leaning against the counter, she let out a loud sigh into the receiver.

"Is it that bad?" Tony asked, and Ziva rolled her eyes.

"How did you get out of this?"

"With my amazing charm and wit," Tony said with a smile on his face. Of course he did.

"You didn't answer my question," Ziva said.

"Neither did you. Is the prospect of becoming the future Mrs DiNozzo really that bad?" Tony said back.

"It's not the name. Or the marriage. It's just the whole affair," Ziva said groaning.

"We could elope and get married in Vegas?" Tony suggested, and Ziva laughed at the prospect.

"We could, but you run the risk of my mother rearranging your balls for you," she said deadpan, "she's looking forward to this thing more than I am."

"Ouch, painful image," Tony muttered, "but you must have some idea of what you want your wedding to look like?"

Ziva bit back the lie that was right at the tip of her tongue. She used to mock Tali for her childish fantasy weddings, but it didn't mean she was immune to the desires herself. In the secrecy of her own head at night, she had let herself explore the possibilities, the dress, the flowers. But most importantly the man. And she had never let herself imagine someone like Tony, a complete idiot, who was still so intense, and lit her with a fire that still burned bright with every passing day.

"All I want is you," Ziva said. It was the most honest thing she could have said, and the vulnerability in her words made Tony push the jokes to one side.

"And you can have me," Tony said.

* * *

Kate excused herself to get a glass of water minutes after Ziva had taken her leave. She figured that at least one of them had to be sober enough to drive home, and by the looks of Tali and Abby, the designated driver was her.

Tracing her footsteps back to the kitchen she took her time, in no hurry to return to the mothers meeting going on in the living room. Someone had switched on the hallway light, probably Ziva when she returned to take Tony's call, and the previously dark hallway was bathed in light. For the first time Kate noticed the pictures that covered the walls. They filled all the spaces, pictures of Ziva when she was a child (who would have thought such a chubby toddled would grow to be Ziva?), pictures of Ari and Tali. The most recent one appeared to be all three of the siblings dressed formally standing on the stairs of this very house. Her eyes were first drawn to Ari, the man who she had first seen in the elevator on the way to legal, who had floored her temporarily with his sharp wit, and who had been gone the next moment. She could have seen him again, could have arranged to bump into him. She had heard on the office scuttle bug that he had got the job at legal, and he hadn't only done well in his interview, but had completely annihilated the competition. There was something about the man that seemed dangerous, and that had initially drawn her to him. But now in hindsight she questioned this. Did she really want some dangerous drifter, who Ziva had once described affectionately as "a complete nutcase with a gun"? But she calmly told herself to not push herself into giving an answer, telling herself that if anything was to happen, it would happen. And if not, then it was his lost.

The next person in the photo was a smiling Ziva, and again Kate was struck by how beautiful she was. Not anything that the media wanted to sell as beautiful, but her small features and her heart-shaped face was perfectly symmetrical, and her face was lit up with life. Maybe that was the reason she had felt awkward around her. Because she intimidated her. And Tony had told her all about how kick-ass ninja she really was.

Kate shook the thought from her head, and made her way to the kitchen, to hear the dying embers of the phone conversation. Walking into the kitchen she saw Ziva leaning up against the counter casually, clutching the phone against her chest with a small smile on her face.

"Did you ask him what colour he wanted the napkins?" Kate asked wryly, knowing that the answer was going to be no.

"I honestly think that if I asked him, he would make some comment about why the colours have such edible names, and then he would say the one that I want."

Kate filled her glass with water from the jug and took a sip from it, making no attempt at conversation. But Ziva seemed to preoccupied with her thoughts to notice. Suddenly she stood up straighter.

"I am getting married," she said, and the smile on her face grew.

"I'm glad you noticed," Kate quipped back, and Ziva smiled at Kate.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Kate thought suddenly, her eyes widening at the prospect.

"No!" Ziva said hastily, then she added, "I just never thought I would ever get married."

"Why not?" Kate said, asking the first question that popped into her mind, "you are smart, stunning, and have men who turn to a mess on the floor at your presence" (McGee may have been dating Abby, but Ziva still managed to intimidate him, until he reverted back to his probie self.)

"You're not so back yourself," Ziva said, and Kate took the strange compliment.

"So, what do you say," Kate said to change the subject, "mint cream or honey dew?"

"I think by the time I get back there at least three people will have chosen for me," Ziva said wryly, and they both returned to the living room, with the seed of a friendship being planted…

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**_wooo! you likey? XD_**


	20. Chapter 20

**_wow, so this is unexpected!_**

**_I sat down this evening, fully thinking that I was going to have to be a really bad person and not update this week. I sat down, thinking that I would make a start on the chapter, and then finish it up during the week. I did not, expect for this to come out. _**

**_Thank you for all the encouraging reviews from last chapter, they really made me smile! i was having a rubbish week, so they DEFINITELY brightened up my life! _**  
**_maybe I was REALLY inspired by "Shabbat Shalom" (I cried.), so I have my AU take on the events. _**

**_Please tell me what you think of this chapter, I REALLY want to know! :) and the more reviews i get, the faster I update ;) _**

**_DISCLAIMER: i do no own NCIS or angry birds. _**

* * *

Chapter 20

It was a slow day at NCIS. And yet, that was something to be thankful for. A slow day at NCIS meant no crimes. No crimes meant no death, which meant no grieving wives, or children who will never get to say goodbye to their mum again. No death meant that there was hope in the world. But it also resulted in a bored Tony.

Kate looked up for the fifth time that minute to see Tony grinning manically at the screen of his phone. His phone was chirping and making strange noises in an equally irritating manner, and it took all Kate had not to go over there and shut him up herself.

"How old are you, Tony?" Kate said finally. Tony may be getting married soon, but he was still such a child.

"Just because _you're_ having a midlife crisis doesn't mean everything is my fault," he said, his eyes still not leaving his screen.

"You have been playing Angry Birds for the past hour, and _I'm _the one going through a midlife crisis?!" Kate said incredulously, the sarcasm dripping from her New York accent, "do you not have anything better to do?"

"Well…" Tony pretended to think for a moment, "no."

Kate sighed and turned back to her computer, tapping at her keyboard. At least she was pretending to be working. But much like Tony, she was bored. However, unlike Tony, this was because she had been a good girl and was on top of all of her paperwork, had organised her desktop, had emailed her mum and could now think of nothing better to do.

"So, how was dinner last night?" Tony asked. His eyes never moved from the screen, but Kate could tell that he was almost bursting with curiosity. When he had first turned down Abby's offer, she had been surprised. He was a generally nosy person, and despite the fact she knew that he cared, he did not seem to get involved, even when it was his wedding after all. And that was another curious thing. Tony DiNozzo, _the _irritating childish frat boy was in a serious relationship? It was craziness at its best.

"It was nice. Ziva's mum is a really good cook," Kate said nonchalantly, and Kate could almost hear the internal battle that was going on in Tony's mind. She knew that her answer wasn't what he was looking for, she wasn't giving him the details that he craved. And she was doing it on purpose, just to tease his just a little bit. But Tony was debating whether going along with her teasing was below him.

But then again, this was Tony.

"Anything, interesting happen?" Tony asked, matching Kate's nonchalance, still not looking at her, but pretending to concentrate on the brightly coloured birds on his screen.

This time Kate turned to Tony, who was still not giving up the pretence of using his phone. Crossing her arms, she propped them on the desk and tilted her head to one side.

"No," she said smiling. That dentist white smile was all it took, as Tony spotted it in his peripheral vision. Pressing a button, the chirping of his phone halted, and Kate could only assume it was the pause button.

"So anything about my wedding that I should know about?" he said, turning to face Kate fully. She mirrored his actions, and set her face in a serious expression. Now was time for the fun.

"You don't have any preference in suit colour, right?" Kate said casually. Tony tilted his head to one side, instantly taking the bait.

"I always thought I would be in black at my wedding. Why, there something I should know about?" Tony said. Now he was worried, and in the exact place that Kate wanted him.

"Well… it's really nothing…" Kate said casually, turning back to her computer monitor, "but how do you feel about pastel green?"

Immediately Tony was out of his seat, and searching through his contacts to find Ziva.

"But it was what Ziva wanted!" Kate called out, watching Tony's disappearing figure as he half walked, half jogged around the corner. Kate smiled and put her hands behind her head to lean on. Revenge was sweet… she thought as she flashed back to the time Tony had loosened the screws of her chair…

Ziva heard her mobile ring from its position on the side bench, perched precariously on the stereo. As it vibrated manically, Ziva suddenly had the vision of her phone falling to its death, so with one shoe securely on and the other in the half way house she sprinted over to catch the phone, just as it was about to hit the floor. Looking around, she was disappointed to see that no-one had witnessed her moment of sheer awesomeness. But nevertheless, she answered the phone, if somewhat breathlessly.

"Hello?"

"What colour is my suit for the wedding?"

Ziva was surprised to hear Tony's voice, he knew not to call her at random times in the day, but what really surprised her was the question.

"We never decided, Tali, Ima and Abby drank two bottles of wine between them, and their wedding suggestions involved you not wearing anything at the church," Ziva said deadpan. If she had been worried that some important decisions were going to be made without her consent, her fears vanished when she returned to the living room after her conversation with Tony. Upon arrival, she saw that Abby and Tali had somehow migrated to the floor, and were now literally rolling on the floor laughing at something. When Ziva had looked at them with disbelief on her face, all they had done was look at each other and then laugh even more. Needless to say, the evening only became stranger as it went on.

"whose idea was that?" Tony said, only slightly relieved that the pastel green suit disaster had been averted. However, the prospect of being married in his birthday suit was not appealing either.

"My mother," Ziva said, "I swear, if she had to choose between us, she would choose you."

"I do have that affect on people," Tony said, and Ziva could see his charming grin from there.

"So, anything else I need to know about from last night?"

Ziva balanced the phone in the crook of her neck, bending down to tie the other lace. Once she did so successfully, she sat down .She didn't really want to tell Tony this, but there was no way of avoiding the inevitable.  
"Tony?"

Ziva could hear the cogs turning in his mind, as he took in the serious tone in her voice. But she pushed on.

"I-"

She was cut off as she heard the door of the studio be pushed open. The heavy sound-proof doors were hard to move at the best of times, but they were useful in informing her when anyone entered the room. Turning around, she expected to see one of the assistant coaches or a pupil early to their rehearsal . She did not, however, expect to see that face.

"Aba?"

She momentarily forgot that she was on the phone, until her heard Tony's voice in her ear.

"Ziva? Who is there?"

"I am going to have to call you back," Ziva said softly, she shock in her voice clear. Without breaking eye contact with her father, she pressed the end call button on her phone, and let her hand fall to her side.

"What, no kiss for your father?" Eli said, his soft voice almost laughing at the irony of the situation himself.

"Aba, what are you doing here," Ziva said, her tone measurable and cautious. Her father was never this softly spoken, unless there was something that he wanted. But this was the first time he had gone to the trouble of coming to America, to her place of work. Maybe he was sick of attempting to reason with her, and was going to pull her back to Israel kicking and screaming.

"I heard you were getting married, and had to come and see the proof myself," Eli said. His eyes flickered down to the simple ring on her finger, and Ziva instinctively drew it into her other hand, as if by looking at it Eli could take it away from her. But she didn't want him to take it away from her. She wanted, no she _needed _Tony. Eli had taken so much from her, he was not going to have this.

"Where are you security detail?" Ziva said.

"They do not know that I am here," Eli said, and at Ziva's quizzical tilt of the head, he expanded, "I am not here on official business, but rather to see my daughter, and meet her fiancé."

"And what if I refuse?" Ziva said coldly, and Eli took in a deep breath to change the subject. Maybe the conversation was getting too serious too soon.

"This is a beautiful place you have here. I am proud of what you have achieved for yourself," Eli said, looking up at the polished wooden tiling of the ceiling.

"I do not want your approval," Ziva said curtly, and Eli sighed.

"Perhaps we could go somewhere to talk," Eli said. Ziva was about to object immediately, but Eli pre-empted her strike, "I want to explain. And after, if you still so desire I will leave and never contact you again.

The prospect of having her father out of her life was too great a temptation for Ziva. All she had to do was put up with him for a few more hours, and then she would be rid of him for good. So she reluctantly agreed, just as he had known she would.

oooOOOooo

The coffee shop was surprisingly busy for that time in the morning, but Ziva relished the chatter that helped her to ignore the man in front of her. She felt like the surly teenager all over again, ignoring her father. But instead of the anger that radiated off her father and worked to fuel her anger, there was nothing but sadness in him. Which made Ziva all the more wary of him.

"So, do I get to meet this fiancé of yours?" Eli said, forcing the conversation.

"Why would you want to do that?" Ziva shot back quickly.

"I would want to meet the man who has won my dear daughter's heart," Eli said.

"I am not your "dear" nor will I ever be," Ziva said. Turning back to her food, she poked at her piece of cake angrily.

"I thought that we could talk about weddings, and the day. I want to keep the day that I will be walking my daughter down the aisle free…" Eli said, and that was the final straw.

Standing up abruptly, Ziva's chair scraped loudly against the hard wooden floor.

"After all you have done, you expect to be able to walk back into my life, and walk me down the aisle? Do you think that I have forgiven you?" Ziva said, her voices rising until she was yelling the final words. She pulled her bag off the back of her chair, and walked out, leaving only inquisitive stares in her wake.

Eli pulled out a few bills and left them on the table to cover the meal, and gathered his things. His hands were shaking as he did it, but he ignored the pain that coursed though his body with every movement. He closed his eyes, trying to control his hands until he felt them still. Breathing a sigh of relief he followed in the footsteps of his daughter. He just hoped that he was not too late.

Ziva stood at the side of the river, looking out onto the open water. The continuous movement of the waves calmed her racing heart, but they did nothing to stop the tears that threatened to fall. In another life she would have been the master over her emotions, just as her father had taught her. But maybe her years in the states had made her soft. But it was not something that she was ashamed of. She was glad she wasn't who she used to be, she was glad she was free to dance, not play with guns. But this was the only time she wished she had her old skill set. That way, she wouldn't be showing her father what he caused her.

She felt Eli come to stand next to her a few moments later. Much like Gibbs, he had a presence about him, one that made her hyper aware when he was around. For a few moments, Ziva refused to talk, out of fear that her voice would not be able to hold her tears in place. But as one fell, she gave up, and let the words flow.

"You left me to die in Somalia, when I was a child, Aba. A _child_" Ziva said, the word Aba coming out as more of a plea that she would have likes, "and when I returned, was there an apology, or an explanation. There was nothing. You didn't even look me in the eye. Was I that much of a failure that I did not deserve even that?" At the final word her voice cracked and the tears were now flowing freely. She was not going to hide it. He deserved to see all the pain that he had caused her.

"Ziva," Eli said, stepping closer to look her straight in the eye. Even after all these years he still towered about her, still was her father, "I could not look you in the eye, because," his words faltered for a moment, desperately searching for the words that were going to make the situation better, " I saw what I had made you face. I saw the horrors that you had seen, all shining in your eyes. And I could not stand what I had done. But what I need now is forgiveness"

Ziva could hear the sorrow in his soft voice, but still there was nothing that he could say. He was the root of her pain, and had been for so many years. She could not forgive him, no matter how cold hearted that made her seem.

"Your sins," she said, but she had to start again as her voice trembled too much. Closing her eyes, she started again, "your sins… are too great."

Before Ziva could break down she turned and walked away. Now she tears clouded her vision, and she could not see her father any more. Little did she know that she would never see her father again…

* * *

**_DUNDUNDUN. what is wrong with Eli? reviews equate to fasted updates! can we make it to 200 review? :D_**


	21. Chapter 21

_**Yes then!**_  
_**wow, that was a LOT of reviews from last chapter! you people are crazy awesome!**_  
_**so many of you bet that Eli was suffering from cancer or something, so this chapter will see how right you are. I'd love if you reviewed at the end of the chapter! :D**_

_**DISCLAIMER: disclaimed**_

* * *

Chapter 21

"You should pick up two of those, McSlimTim. You're becoming the "I" in NCIS."

Tony's words were greeted be a shaking head, as McGee pressed the button on the staff vending machine and bent down to retrieve his sweet treat. He had been cutting back the junk food he ate, and he had been spending more time at the gym. But the occasional Nutter Butter never hurt anyone.

The break room was unseasonably quiet, despite the hour. Tony and McGee were the only ones who inhabited the smattering of tables, illuminated by the bright light of the early morning sun. Gibbs had gone out for the first coffee run of the morning, meaning the team were free to run riot. Kate had gone off somewhere to visit Abby, leaving the boys to go and hunt for food.

As the boys pulled back their chairs, another figure entered the break room.

"Ari," Tim said politely, and Ari nodded in his direction.

"McGee, Tony," he replied. Ari fed his own dollar bill into the machine and got his own food, before joining the boys at the table.

"So how is legal treating you?" McGee said. Tony wouldn't have admitted it, but he had forgotten that Ari worked in legal. But Ari's presence alone reminded him of what Kate had said so long ago.

"It is very nice, thank you. Michelle is giving me a hard time, but I am prepared for it," Ari replied smiling, "and how are the wedding plans going, Tony?"

The groan that Tony emitted was all Ari needed.

"That bad?" Ari joked.

"Worse," Tony said, and then at Ari's look he elaborated, "The combined forces of your mother, Tali and Abby seem to be drowning out everything that Ziva wants."

"And what does Ziva want?" McGee interjected.

"Ziva wants everyone to have a good time. And she wants what they want."

"Then what is the problem?" Ari asked.

"I want her to have the wedding she dreamed of. But she is too willing to allow Rivka and Abby's free reign."

"Should I talk to my mother for you?" Ari suggested amused, but Tony's wild eyes were clearly not amused.

"I like my balls the way they are," Tony muttered, flashing back to when Ziva had told him that her mother would likely re-arrange his balls for him if they were to elope. The crazed look in McGee's expression suggested that Tony should expand on his statement. However, he was cut short by two very familiar figures walking into the break room.

"Fornell?" McGee asked, and Fornell tipped his balding head towards the younger man. The scene was strange, the FBI never set foot so deep into NCIS. If they were ever at the navy yard they normally limited their path of destruction to the squad room and interrogation. However, there must have been something that lured them so deep into the depths of the NCIS building. And the serious expressions on their faces did nothing to relieve the tension that was mounting due to the alien presence.

"We're here to ask Haswari a few questions."

At Fornell's words both McGee and Tony turned to look at Ari, whose expression shed no light on the situation.

"What is this about?" Ari said standing up.

Fornell shared a look with his more built more stoic FBI counterpart, who was clearly trying to judge whether Tony and McGee could be trusted. But at a nod from Fornell, the silent figure spoke.

"We're here to inform you about the death of Director Eli David," the agent said in a deep uncomfortable voice. And it was in that moment that the playful camaraderie was over, and there was deathly silence in the break room. Tony's eyes never left Ari, who seemed to take the information indifferently. But there was something in his eyes, something that was completely unreadable.

"Eli David is dead? How?" McGee asked, not quite believing it, and needing certification. A grave nod from Tobias answered his question.

"We believe he died of a heart attack. And we would prefer if as few people as possible knew. We don't want to start anything between Israel and America," Tobias said, and McGee nodded in understanding. An incident like this, if not handled carefully would not be good for the already tenuous relationship between America and Israel.

"What was the director doing here?" Tony asked seriously. Had the situation been lighter, McGee would have commented on how it was the most serious that he had seen Tony all day. It was only this morning that Tony was laughing as Kate sat down on her chair, which promptly collapsed from underneath her.

But no-one was laughing now.

"That is the thing," Tobias said, and the frustration that he had hid so well was beginning to show, "He shouldn't be in the country. He if not here on official business and his own people don't know that he is here."

Ari, who seemed to have only recovered from the shock then spoke.

"Who knows about this?"

"The FBI higher ups, and now you," Fornell's companion replied. And then a thought hit both Ari and Tony at the same time.

"Do Ziva and Tali know?" Ari voiced.

"They have been informed, yes," Tobias said, and before anyone could say anything, Tony rushed out. His destination was clear.

The rest of the room was left in silence.

"So, you have questions," Ari said, and Tim left Ari with the officers. Someone was going to have to tell Gibbs…

oooOOOooo

Tony almost lost control of the car as he sped through the streets of the city. All the way he was swearing under his breath over and over again. He had finally thought that his relationship with Ziva was settling down, that they were finally going to be normal, and do what normal couples did. But there was nothing normal about who they both were. He was an immature mess, who had met the scarred scared woman while investigating a murder of her friend. And somewhere along the way he had been shot, and had broken her hand. Yet they were somehow together, despite all the factors that had torn them apart. But now this had hit Ziva, he didn't know if Ziva would push him away or break down.

Tony swung open the door of the studio, and greeted the blond woman at reception.

"She's in studio D," she said, even before Tony could ask the question. Tony smiled gratefully; he hadn't trusted himself to speak, and he wouldn't have known what sound would have come out had he attempted to.

Tony pushed open the heavy sound-proof door, despite hearing the music coming from the room. The overly happy tune about a bumble bee seemed inappropriately cheerful for his current mood, but looking in he could see a small child dancing her heart out, and Ziva's face break in a smile. But even if the encouraging smile was convincing her student, it wasn't convincing him. He could tell that she had been crying, he could see the tired exhausted look in her eyes. Those dark eyes flickered to him, and as the music came to a close, she spoke.

"I will be done in half an hour," she said, and if Tony had missed the sadness in her eyes, he would have picked up on it then. Her voice was empty, too soft of the strong woman she was. But despite the lack of force behind her statement, Tony only nodded and backed out of the room.

Ziva watched Tony's retreating figure as he left the room, and she fought every instinct she had not to run to him and catapult herself into his arms. Her father was dead. The truth had still not sunk in, and the fact that despite the news she was still in the studio made the situation even more surreal. Two FBI agents had come to question her that morning, and she had only just managed to hold herself together throughout their questioning after they gave her the news. And then as soon as the two agents had left, Jess had come in for a private lesson for one of her solos, leaving Ziva with no time to compose herself, or have a moment alone. But she had to last. She had to wait it out, those thirty minutes that she had to concentrate all of her attention on this little girl. This girl deserved her full attention. No less.

"Is that your boyfriend?"

The small voice pulled her out of her thoughts, and Ziva had to smile sadly at the child's inquisitive nature.

"That is my fiancé," Ziva said, "but that doesn't matter. What matters is that you don't fall out of your turns like that again, or if you feel you are going to fall out, you get out of it gracefully."

Tony had never felt the time go as slowly than in that moment. He had no interest in the brightly coloured dance magazines that were spread out before him, and even if he had tried to read it, he would not have been able to concentrate on the words. He idly thought of what McGee was doing back at work, and prayed that McGee had the mercy to cover for him in his absence. Not that it mattered. Nothing mattered, other than Ziva.

Ziva's mind was racing. There was a small section counting down the minutes until she could be in Tony's arms, spotting the large clock in her peripheral vision. Another part of her mind was categorizing every mistake that the little girl in front of her was making, remembering to give as feedback. And another part of her mind was trying so hard not to cry.

Mercifully, there was someone out there who thought that Ziva's misfortunes were too great to make her suffer any more. Some higher power believed they had punished her enough for one day. But whatever it was, Jess' mum turned up early, and pulled her out of her lesson five minutes early. Which meant that as soon as Jess left, Tony entered the studio. And as soon as she saw him, she ran up to him and fell into his open arms.

She breathed deeply into his soft worn coat, and felt his muscular arms encase her body. This was what she needed. This is what she craved, the moment that the FBI agents had told her the news. She wanted to be held up when she couldn't stand on her own. She wanted to be dependent on someone. For once in her life, she didn't want to be the strong one. Her father would tell her that she should not show weakness… the mere thought of her father pushed the tears that were so close to falling out of her, and onto the soft cotton of Tony's jumper.

Ziva pulled her head out of his jumper and opened her mouth to say something. But before she could push the words out the door of the studio opened, and two figures stepped in. As soon as Ziva saw Tali's figure in the doorway, she let go of Tony and Tali ran into her arms. The sobs that raked Tali's body could be heard from where Tony stood, and his heart clenched as she watched the sisters. Ari walked into the room next, and Ari nodded wordlessly at him.

Ziva was smoothing Tali's hair soothingly as she cried into Ziva shoulder, and just as a mother would, Ziva whispered soothing words in Hebrew in her ear. Ziva's own eyes began to prick with tears as she felt the pain of her sister. Her father had never been a good man. He had grown into a monster, one who sent his twelve year old daughter on a suicide mission. He had crafted Ari into a mole for his own gain, and had damaged the man beyond repair. But somehow they were tied, by flesh and blood, and that emotional bond that could never be broken. That hope that she would somehow gain her father's approval, the desire to please him. And that weakness alone meant that she could not be indifferent when he died. She could not think of all the good things that could come with his death. All she could think about was the man who had been her father, who had once upon a time helped her ride a bike, who had hugged her when she threw a knife for the first time. Suddenly all the good memories were in the front of her mind, and she was mourning the monster who she had once loved.

Tony could see a battle going on, behind Ari's dark and unwavering eyes. There was something there, something that Tony could not read, but the conflict in Ari's eyes was undeniable. Tony would have put it down to the conflict of whether to mourn or celebrate Eli's death. But there was something more. Something dark, and scary. Something that Tony did not understand.

The girls stood there interlinked for some time. But a noise from the other side of the room caused all four of them to look up, and two men who Tony instantly placed as agents walked into the room, with grave, unreadable expressions on their faces.

"Miss David," one of them said. He was a tall blond haired man, who seemed too stoic and too cold for Tony's liking. Regarding the rest of the people in the room, the man felt the need to introduce himself.

"Agent Barnett, FBI," he said, flipping out his credentials, "this is Agent Yules."

"I thought I answered all of your questions this morning," Ziva said, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the heels of her palms, trying her best to look composed, but keeping her arms looped around Tali.

"Yes you did," the other agent spoke.

"Then what are you doing here?" Ziva asked, pulling Tali closer to her, as if trying to protect her sister from these men, who she didn't seem to want to trust. But Tony could not blame her.

"We have new information that Director David did not die from natural causes," the first agent said.

"It wasn't a heart attack?" Ziva asked, shocked.

The shakes of their heads answered Ziva's question.

"Well," she said uncomfortably, "thank you for informing me."

"That isn't why we're here," the second raven haired agent said, sounding somewhat uncomfortable, "we're actually here to talk to Mr Haswari."

All eyes turned to look at Ari, who looked back at the FBI agent.

"Why?" he said slowly and carefully, his dark eyes darting between both agents.

The next few words were not expected by anyone. Those next words turned Ziva's world upside down, and made her question everything from then on. Those next words that meant that nothing would ever be the same ever again.

"We need to bring you in. We have reason to believe that you murdered Director David."

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_**:O did you see that one coming?! i know this poses a LOT of questions, but these will be resolved in the next chapter! please review... the more reviews the faster I update ;D**_


	22. Chapter 22

**_I AM SUCH A BAD PERSON! :(((_**

**_I am SO sorry for the late update. As some of you may know, I try to update every Saturday/Sunday, but this week has been crazy stressful, and I seem to have been tired all week... *sigh* but I hope you all still want to read!_**  
**_thank you SO much for the reviews! you guys really like Ari! as in, I love Ari, but you guys REALLY love Ari. So on that revelation, I have tailored this chapter to your tastes! enjoy!_**

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Chapter 22

Ari sat in interrogation, wringing his hands nervously, as he tracked the flashing red dot of the camera in the corner of the room. He had been in interrogation rooms numerous times before, first in Mossad, where the red dot in the corner was off more than it was on, and later at NCIS offering legal advice to all kinds of people, ranging from the ones he wanted to help and those scumbags who he had no desire to assist, yet were given the right to legal advice by law. And now there he was, sitting on that side of the table, treated as nothing more than those common criminals. And the worst part about it was that he had no idea why.

Ari cursed his late father in his mind, as perspiration began to drip off his brow. Even in death the man could still cause such hassle, such an inconvenience in his life. He could not honestly say that he was sad to see his father go; Ari thought that if someone else had not got to it first, he would have been the one to fill his father up with bullets. But now that Ari had been sitting there for hours on end, there was nothing he wished more than for his father to be alive. Eli was not even supposed to be in the US, and yet somehow his body was cold in an American morgue. It must be some sick twist of fate, some horrible coincidence. It must have been some man who happened to look exactly like his father, with eh exact same expensive air about him with his immaculate haircut and pressed suit that had died. Except for the fact that DNA did not lie.

The metal door to his prison swung open heavily, and Ari jumped in surprise. He should have been more at ease, it was in his training, but this was something that he had never encountered before. And for the first time in his life, he was not steely and calm as a sniper, but was more of a jittery mess. And it was all because of Eli David.

"Ari Haswari," the agent addressed him. Agent Yule, if Ari remembered correctly from the introduction at the dance studio. The stoic man was someone who Ari would have never feared, had the circumstances been different. But under this situation, where this man was going to determine whether he was locked away or set free, Ari was completely at his mercy.

"I am going to make this quick, and I want you to answer simply and quickly. Do you copy?"

This man had clearly had some kind of military training, his direct and to the point approach spoke of military precision and a no-nonsense attitude.

"Yes," Ari managed to choke out. Here he was, being treated like the criminals that he so despised. It was chilling and frightening.

"It says here that you have a background in medicine, before you trained to become a lawyer. Am I correct?" Yule asked.

"Yes," Ari said quickly, the surprise in his voice too clear to mask. He expected to be asked about what he was doing earlier that day, or be asked about his relationship with his father. But his medical background? If Ari had not been pushed off balance before, this was the push that had him falling over the edge.

"So, correct me if I am wrong, I am able to deduce that you have great knowledge about the body and the effect drugs have on it."

Now Ari was getting a better picture of the events, and how they resulted in him being pulled into the chaos. So his father had been drugged. And that was the reason why Ari was a suspect. What had first appeared to be natural causes had been anything but natural, crafted by a skilled craftsman. But with Eli David being the director of Mossad, he would have made many enemies, and many of them would have been able to concoct such a deadly cocktail. Ari may not have had a solid alibi, but there was one fact that overruled any suspicions. Ari did not actually do it.

"Haswari, if I may call you Haswari," Yule said suddenly, and Ari felt his mind be pulled off in another direction once again. The trick of using the suspects name multiple times in the one sentence was a tactic he had seen on numerous occasions. He had even used it himself in his time, "I want you to answer this with a yes or no. Is this you speaking to the late Eli David?" Yule motioned towards the mirror, and noise began to fill the room. And Ari paled. He knew what conversation was about to be played to him.

_3 weeks earlier_

_Ari paced the hallway of his apartment, his mobile phone glued to his ear as he waited for someone to pick up and the other end. The connection from America and Israel had been slow, and that fact had only made his mood shorter than it already was. _

"_Hello?" _

_The voice at the other end of the line finally spoke, and Ari wasted no time. _

"_Stop contacting Ziva," Ari said briskly. _

"_Ari? Is that you?" _

"_She does not wish to leave this country, let alone return to yours," Ari said, ignoring his father's question. _

"_Is she unable to tell this to me herself?" Eli spoke, and the muffled sound of background shuffling told Ari that his father was most likely leaning back on his chair at work, in that arrogant way that Ari had seen him do too many times throughout his childhood._

"_She has been. For a long time. And yet you still do not listen to her," Ari said. _

"_Ari, be reasonable… I-"_

"I _need to be reasonable. I am serious, if you do not stop contacting her, I will make sure that you are never able to contact her again."_

"_Is that a threat?" Eli asked, arrogantly, as if mocking Ari for his inability to touch the illustrious Eli David. The casual drawl only heightened Ari's anger, causing words that he should have not let spill out, spill out. _

"_I will say this once. If you contact Ziva again, it will be the last thing you ever do," and with that he hung up_

Present

Ari grew more ashen as he heard the malice in his own voice. This was not good. He had literally threatened to kill Eli, and then Eli had turned up dead. And just after having met with Ziva. The evidence, no matter how tenuous, was certainly damning, and even Ari himself would not argue with it.

"I ask again, is this your voice," Agent Yule said calmly, breaking Ari out of his thoughts.

"Yes," Ari said quietly, and that was all Yule needed. Standing up, Yule left the room, and Ari was left alone once again.

oooOOOooo

Ari didn't know how long he had been waiting in this room. He did, however know that the red light in the corner of the room had flashed 396 times throughout his stay, at exactly three second intervals. As he counted, his mind continued to spin with the possibilities. He had no alibi; he had been at home for the whole of the day, alone, with no-one there to confirm his presence. What if he was sent to jail for a crime that he did not commit? What if he had to leave Ziva on her own, with her hands full with their mother, Tali and now this new boyfriend who he had not quite grown to like (it was nothing to do with Tony. It was just the fact someone was dating his little sister…)

The door swung open again, but much to Ari's surprise it wasn't Yule's shining face that greeted him. This man had an air about him that spoke of power and respect. His steely blue eyes seemed to juxtapose with the sharp edges of his marine haircut. Ari recognised him as the infamous Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He had the privilege of his acquaintance briefly when visiting Ziva with Tali while Tony was in hospital. The memory of sharing take-out on the hospital floor along with both his sisters put him vaguely at ease. However, somewhere in the back of his mind, he noticed the insistent flashing of the light in the corner of the room had stopped. Which made Ari sit up a little bit straighter.

"Did you kill him?"  
Gibbs' question was straight to the point, his no nonsense attitude clear from the moment he stepped into the room.

"No. I swear I didn't, Ari said, ready to get onto the defensive. He has spent the whole morning being treated like a criminal. And now this man could be the key to getting him out. He was going to take this chance.

"Why not?" Gibbs asked, sitting down and fixing his icy gaze on Ari.

"I wouldn't do that. Not to Ziva," there was a dark look in Ari's eye. At Gibbs' look, Ari took a breath and looked away, "for some reason Ziva loves that man. And I couldn't cause her more pain," he looked back up at Gibbs, "I don't know how much more she can take."

Gibbs sat staring into Ari's eyes, and Ari couldn't look away. It was as if the older man was searching his soul, trying to find the truth in the world of lies. Abruptly Gibbs stood up, pushing his chair back noisily, and he left the room.

Out in the corridor, Gibbs closed the door softly behind him. Collecting his thoughts, he turned to Tobias, who had been the key to getting Gibbs those precious few moments with Ari. Ziva was heartbroken that her brother had been taken by the FBI, and like a father, Gibbs felt the need to involve himself with the FBI's investigation. Despite the fact he had absolutely no jurisdiction, there were more than a few FBI agents who owed him favours, and were willing to look the other way as he poked his nose in places that were really none of his business. That in addition to the fact Tobias was the closest thing he had to a friend (as sad as the fact was) meant that the door was open for Gibbs to walk in. Fornell had been responsible for those off the record few moments. And that was all Gibbs needed.

"You can't hold him here," Gibbs said.

"We can," Fornell argued back softly, as if worried that Ari may overhear their conversation through the thick soundproof walls of the interrogation rooms. It seemed like an automated response for Fornell, to argue against whatever Gibbs was suggesting. Fornell would say his response was because most of the time Gibbs was wrong which got himself into trouble, pulling Fornell into the mess with him. Others would argue that it was because Fornell and Gibbs bickered like a married couple, as disturbing as the idea was to both parties.

"On what?"

There was a silence as Fornell contemplated this. It was true, they had no solid evidence that Ari had killed his father. The only thing that linked Ari to Eli's death was a motive. And there were thousands of people with the motive to kill Eli, albeit for less personal reasons. Suddenly Fornell felt tired. The list if suspects had grown throughout the day, and frankly he didn't have time to hold Ari there on the basis of a family grudge. He had so many members of the alphabet soup breathing down his neck about this one. This death on American soil could cause an international incident, and Fornell was feeling the pressure. He wished that he was assigned this case. However, there was something in him that meant that he didn't want anyone else to take the case, other than him.

"Take him," Fornell said, immediately regretting his words. And then he caught a glimpse of Gibbs' boyish grin, his blue eyes lighting up, and the corners of his eyes forming deep creases. Fornell couldn't help but chuckle at Gibbs' expression. Damn that cheeky bastard…

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**_tehehehe :P I hope this is some resolution, but the situation is DEFINITELY not resolved. next chapter will see the team's reaction to the news (especially Kate... ;D) and some other ideas! the more reviews, the faster I update! :D_**


	23. Chapter 23

**_hola!_**

**_no, your eyes do not deceive you. this is an ACTUAL update, the second in one week! and it's actually on time!_**  
**_thank you for the reviews, and shout outs go to LivyRox (despite being too lazy to log it ;D), Elleraymond, prince-bishop, hakunaamatataa (i love your penname.), TivaGirl, Crazy-random-reader of hogwart, TheRoseShadow21, numb3rs mystery, aspenxo, Liraeyn, chrissym453 and the guest reviewers who have all left reviews. You guys are awesome. :D_**

**_so, here we go!_**

**_disclaimer: disclaimed._**

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Chapter 23

"_It has been confirmed that the body of Eli David, the director of Israel's Mossad has been discovered on American soil. Delegates from Israel deny having any knowledge that the director was in the country, and have not been discreet on their desire for revenge. The FBI has been handling the incident on the home front, but this could have repercussions over the world, jeopardising American relations all over the Middle East."_

"Tony, have you heard this?" Kate said, pointing the clicker at one of the many screens playing the news that inhabited the squad room, as she saw Tony's figure enter. Tony quickly glanced at the reporter and read the headline before nodding.

"Yeah, Ziva found out yesterday, and then Ari was taken in for questioning," Tony said distracted, and Kate whipped her head around in surprise.  
"Ari?"

"Yeah, he was taken to be questioned by the FBI, but Gibbs managed to get him out of it."

Kate didn't know whether to be insulted that all this had happened without her knowledge, or glad that she had not been pulled into the mess. Ziva had just lost her dad, and Kate was never good with emotional people. She could give hugs (she had learnt from the best. The best being Abby), but other than a few words of advice, she really didn't have much to say. Especially to Ziva, the woman who she had only just began to connect with. Kate couldn't comment on losing a father, her own was alive and well living life and enjoying retirement. It was probably best that Tony had not roped her in to help deal with Ziva.

"How is she holding up," Kate asked concerned. Just because she could not offer help, didn't mean that she didn't want Ziva to get any help.

"Surprisingly upset about it," Tony said dryly, and at Kate's curious look he sighed and elaborated, "She's a crazy ninja. She doesn't get upset."

"Her dad did just die," Kate pointed out, and Tony sent her a withering look. But the importance of Kate's words was not lost on Tony. He could tell that Kate was trying to inject some normality into his world, where Normality seemed to be sparse at that moment in time.

Tony had finished shuffling through his desk, and pulled out something that Kate couldn't see, before it got stuffed into his bag.

"I'm not staying. You and probie should be able to handle anything today," Tony said.

"I might even enjoy that silence" Kate said, and Tony rolled his eyes childishly. He nodded goodbye, and Kate watched his retreating figure leave that room. Sitting down she sighed to herself. Life never did have any dull moments…

A few moments later McGee half ran, half walked into the squad room. Looking around, he let out a visible sigh of relief, as he saw that their fearless leader was not yet there. Dumping his stuff at his desk, he sat down and turned to the desk diagonal to him.

"Where is Gibbs?" McGee said, wanting to know if their leader was in the building to witness his tardiness.

"I haven't seen him yet," Kate replied, not turning away from the screen.

"And where is Tony?" McGee asked.

Kate sighed and turned to face the probie fully. Despite the fact the man had grown in the past few years, there were times where she thought that he was just as stupid and naïve as hi had been when he started out at NCIS.

"Did you watch the news this morning?" Kate asked, and McGee looked confused at the sudden change in subject matter.

"Yes?" McGee said, more as a question than an answer.

"Did you hear about the death of the director of Mossad?"

"Yes?" McGee said again, still not following where the conversation was going.

Kate sighed. She was really going to kill this boy soon.

"You know, Director David," Kate said.

There was silence.

Suddenly a thought dawned upon McGee.

"Eli David? As in Ziva David's Eli David?!" McGee said alarmed, and Kate had to resist the urge to clap very slowly at him. For a boy genius, McGee was pretty stupid.

"Gold star to you, McGee," Kate said, turning back to the screen. There was a short silence.

"How is Ziva taking it?" McGee said quietly, and Kate felt a tug of sympathy for the man. Because he was that. He was a man, no matter how Tony and Kate treated him. He was sensitive, and he had faced all the horrors that she, Tony and Gibbs faced on an almost daily basis. But he had not yet gained the respect that the three of them had, at least not as fully. She almost felt sorry for him. And his question was valid. Ziva had just lost her father, and according to Tony, her older brother had just been interrogated by the FBI… She pulled her thoughts back as she felt them running away from her. Ari.

Abruptly Kate's hands moved to her computer, typing in letters and numbers on their own accord. McGee looked curiously at her, trying to decide whether she had gone back to work, or if she had finally lost her marbles. When Kate found what she wanted, she stood up, grabbed her coat and bag and headed towards the elevator. Then as what seemed to be a fleeting thought, she turned back to McGee.

"Cover for me?" she said, with a sweet smile that could charm men of any age, and with a flash she was gone.

McGee rolled his eyes at Kate's smile. She was such a girl, she reminded him of Sarah at times. Since the day Sarah was born, she had her big brother wrapped around her little finger. She would smile, and her big brother would help her out of whatever stupid situation she had got herself into (who accidently sets that cat on fire, then tries to hide the singled fur by cutting ALL the fur of?! His sister was insane). But somehow McGee always found himself pulled into whatever mess she had made.

But McGee wasn't as helpless as he used to be. He wasn't the stupid little kid who took the blame for his sister's mistakes. He had learned, and wasn't to be underestimated. He pulled up a programme on his computer, and typing in the IP address, he pulled up the last pages that Kate had been viewing moments before she had left. In another tab he opened up the location of her cell phone, which only confirmed his suspicions. But now that he knew where she was heading, it didn't make the situation any less bizarre. Why would she be going to Ari Haswari's house?

oooOOOooo

On the other side of town, Ari lay in bed, having been awake for the whole night. It had been late when he had got home from his interrogation at the FBI headquarters, and even later when he had flopped down on the mattress, physically cleaner and fed, but still unable to scrape the filth that clung to him from being treated like a suspect, and empty inside. Closing his eyes, he had tried to rest himself physically and emotionally, but the thoughts running riot through his head would not let him sleep. His mind was pulling up every memory he had ever shared with his father, digging back into the deepest archives of his mind. For every happy memory that he produced, for every moment he saw his father proud of him, there was a dark, haunting memory that could be seen side by side. His father had been the source of his pain for years, but had also been the source of his happiness. Every time he mastered a new skill, or took up a new discipline, it was his father who was the motivation. Even a vague acknowledgement of his achievements filled him with pride, and a hunger to receive another one. But looking back at it, Ari couldn't help but look at those memories with a critical eye. Was his father really ever proud of him, or did Eli see Ari as a nuisance, that could only be dealt with if he offered praise? Did his father see him as an asset, a weapon who when manipulated correctly could be capable of great things? If this was true, then Ari was nothing to him. Not even a half son, but an insignificant piece of his games.

There was a knock at the door that stopped these corrupting thoughts in their tracks. His first thought was that his mother was going to barge in and fling open the curtains in her usual style, not caring whether he wanted to wake up or not. He had been surprised that his mother was yet to make an appearance, but he had been occupied for the whole of yesterday (and by occupied, he meant sitting in interrogation in the FBI head quarters). But as the knocking continued, his thoughts changed. His mother had her own key to his apartment that she seldom used, but had all the same. Why would she wait for him to come to the door if she had the means of entering independently. The knocks were also more soft, but equally demanding as his mother's insistent tapping.

Pulling himself out of bed, Ari swore to himself as he flung open his bedroom door, and light from the real world was allowed to flow in. As he got to the door, he was bracing himself for the cold blast of wind that would definitely enter his already cold apartment. If this was some salesman, he was defiantly going to strangle him on sight. But when he opened the door he got a surprise.

"Kate?"

Kate dint know what had possessed her to come and see Ari. She was nothing to him. She had bumped into him once on the way to work, and heard a lot about him through Ziva. But to him, she was nothing. And yet she stood there on the icy morning cursing herself and her rash decision making. But it was too late to leave, and her stubborn attitude prevented her from leaving.

Ari stood there for a moment in surprise. Who was this? There was a rush as his hazy mind remembered seeing her once at NCIS, and catching fleeting glimpses of her around NCIS. And he had heard countless accounts of her from Ziva, who had expressed her concern for the older woman, about how she had been awkwardly sitting when their mother had invited everyone over to plan his baby sister's impending wedding.

"Kate?" Ari said, and the woman smiled at him confidently. But there was something in her eyes that was not as confident as her body language. Something that spoke of her hesitance.

There was an awkward pause as neither party knew what to do. Ari didn't seem to know what to say. Was there a guidebook somewhere that gave advice about what to do when a beautiful woman turned up on your doorstep at strange hours in the morning? Needless to say, his mother had raised a gentleman, and he was not about to kick her to the curb.

"Come in," he said, motioning to her, and Kate smiled again, this time with a more genuine look in her eyes. Ari tried to ignore the way deep creases formed in her cheeks when she smiled. Here he was, admiring this beautiful woman, who he barely knew. He blamed these feelings on the fact his mind was in turmoil, and the fact that she was definitely an attractive woman. But somewhere in the recess of his mind, he knew there was something else there…

Kate followed Ari's figure back into the house, trying to take in as many details as she could. His house was surprisingly clean and neatly organised, with very few images and photos adorning the walls. As a seasoned profiler, she couldn't help but analyse everything that she saw, from the neatly folded clean laundry to the hamper for dirty clothes.

"Would you like a coffee?" Ari said, switching on the kettle as they reached the kitchen. Kate was too busy at first to answer the question, as she stared in awe at the space. It was a large, modern looking kitchen, with all the bells and whistles. The large flat surface of the centre counter was polished marble that matched with the surfaces of every counter. It looked like a kitchen out of one of those unrealistic cooking programs, all shiny and beautiful. It was at Kate's non-answer that Ari turned around and caught her staring at his kitchen in wonder.

"I am a bit of a cooking snob," he said wryly, and Kate caught a glimpse of the man who was a brother to Ziva and Tali.

"I'm having an eye-gasm just looking at it," Kate said under her breath, and then her eyes widened comically as she realised that she had voiced her thoughts. Cringing, she closed her eyes embarrassed. However, when she had decided to risk her pride by opening her eyes, all she could see was Ari's grin grow.

"I would like to say I have that effect on all the beautiful women I meet, someone told me lying was wrong," Ari said, and Kate smiled back.

They sat opposite each other at the breakfast bar sipping their hot drinks. The previous laugh had extinguished much of the previous awkwardness, but Ari was yet to discover why Kate was here.

"As much as I enjoy your company," Ari started between sips of coffee, "is there a reason for your visit?"

Kate put her mug down at his question and tried not to sigh. She had known that this question was going to come out at some point, and yet she had not formulated an answer. Yet.

"I," she said, stretching out the sound, "was wondering how you were holding up."

Ari smiled at her, looking down at his mug.

"I am sure there are more important things for someone like you to be worried about, other than my wellbeing," he replied.

"What do you mean "someone like me"?" Kate said, trying to sound casual, but immediately getting defensive. There were far too many idiots who tried to dictate who she was, or who she was supposed to be. It was something that had started in high school, and at the time she thought that it was just something that kids did, and that they would eventually grow out of it. But as she grew up, she realised that the world still contained those people. They just were older and were more set in their ways.

"I mean a woman who is surrounded by men and who probably has to work twice as hard as any of them," Ari clarified.

Kate looked down at her drink, slightly ashamed that she had judged his motives so quickly. And then she realised that he had somehow moved the conversation away from himself and his troubles, and had managed to make her the subject of the conversation.

"So, how _are_ you holding up?" Kate said, steering the conversation back to safer waters.

Ari looked deep into her eyes, and for a moment it looked like he was going to answer her. But suddenly there was a jangle of keys in the lock, and Ari stood up abruptly. There was a pause, as they both waited for whoever it was to reveal them self. And sure enough they did.

"Hello Kate," Rivka said, and Ari knew that the inevitable had come true. It was only a matter of time before his mother came to mother him. He had just not expected her faultless skill of picking the wrong time to show up.

"Hello, Rivka. I'm just going," Kate said hurriedly, "thank you for the coffee, Ari."

"Any time," Ari said, actually meaning it.

As Kate left, Ari turned to his mother, cursing her impeccable timing. She was giving him one of those looks, a kind of half star, half "I told you so" smile. Ari sighed.

"What are you smiling at?"

* * *

**_so the Kari Vs Kibbs war continues! do you guys want Kari or Kibbs to win? please drop a review to tell me what you think! :D_**


	24. Chapter 24

**_GAHHHHHHHH!_**

**_THAT IS CRAZY! FIFTEEN REVIEWS FOR ONE CHAPTER! _**

**_I have never had that many reviews for a chapter. Not ever. You people are amazing. You are the reason I write, and the reason I keep writing. Words cannot express (that's ironic, seeing as I claim I am a writer... :P)_**

**_I hope you enjoy this chapter!_**

**_Disclaimer: not mine._**

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Chapter 24

Silence.

Pure, unadulterated silence. The kind that belonged in horror films, the type that meant something bad was about to happen. It was scary, and foreboding, and just plain strange.

Tony walked through Ziva's apartment, gun drawn as he waited for the worst. It had started when Ziva hadn't answered the door when he rang. Picking the lock, he entered the house, still calling Ziva's name as he cleared every room. Every horrible thought that Tony could have been thinking was running through his mind at a hundred miles an hour, ranging from Mossad coming to the states to claim Ziva back to Israel, to aliens abducting the hottest thing that they found on the earth (Megan Fox had nothing on his Ziva). Reaching the final door of the house, he took a deep breath, as if he was clearing the house of a suspect. He placed a hand on the door knob, and quickly pushed the door open.

There was a scream.

Tony had to check for a moment that it wasn't his own mouth that had emitted that high pitched squeal. But one look at Ziva's face told him that it had not been him who had screamed, but her. It was then when he took in the large T-shirt and the detergent bottle that were in her hand. And the earphones that were hanging limp from her shirt, the wire snaking down her top and into the pockets of her denim shorts. He could hear the loud music being emitted from the headphones from his side of the room, and identified the noise as the reason why Ziva had failed to come to the door previously.

As he holstered his gun, Ziva seemed to catch her breath, and recover what was left of her dignity.

"What is wrong with entering my house like a normal person?!" she said indignantly.

"I rang the doorbell, but you didn't answer," Tony said defending himself.

"So the logical sequence of events in your mind was to burst in, guns blazing?"

"Yes."

There was a pause as Ziva and Tony stood face to face, Ziva's eyes narrowed unto a menacing line. It was only then that Tony noticed how small Ziva was, dressed in oversized clothing, and barefoot. She had to look up slightly to meet his eyes, and Tony grinned at the revelation.

"What?"" she said, slightly scared at Tony's sudden manic grin.

"Is this our first fight?" Tony said, ignoring her question, but saying exactly what was on his mind, a wayward thought that was not stopped by his brain to mouth filter (not that it ever stopped anything).

Tony continued, "and if so, does this entitle us to hot, make up sex?"

Ziva's mouth opened slightly indignantly, and Tony grinned as he, for the first time was the one to leave her without words.

"So, you got anything to eat, I'm hungry…" Tony said, abruptly turning around and following his heart (or stomach, in his case). As he navigated down Ziva's hallways with practised ease, Tony felt a small twinge of satisfaction at the way Ziva followed in his footsteps. As they reached the small kitchen, Tony started going through her cupboards with a strange familiarity.

"So what was with the music?

"I was cleaning. Cleaning is boring. Therefore I was entertaining myself," Ziva said, as if she was stating the obvious. His mind may equate arguments to make up sex, but her mind worked in music.

"Why were you cleaning?" Tony said.

"Am I not allowed to clean?" Ziva shot back argumentatively, and Tony grinned. It had been strange to see Ziva as the damsel in distress, the one who needed a shoulder to cry on. He was more than willing to be that shoulder for her, and was glad that she hadn't pushed him away, but had pulled him closer. It was as if she was using his as a shield for all of her emotions, forcing the negative feelings in her head away with the fact that he was there. He was a physical reminder that she was needed and wanted. And he was more than willing to remind her of that every day. But there was something about the reappearance of her previous fire, the spark that reminded him so much of the woman who had grown so frustrated with him that she had pushed him up against that very counter and kissed him into submission. He knew that this Ziva was not the same as the old Ziva, and he didn't want her to be. The new Ziva was more forthcoming with her emotions, more willing to let him in. But there was something special about that spark that the town of them shared, that meant that their relationship stayed alive where many before had failed. It was a combination of the two factors that made them work together, despite the odds that were stacked against them, his job, her past, and her questionable future. But they would work. They had to.

Tony smiled at the thoughts flashing through his mind (he seemed to be grinning and smiling a lot lately. But Ziva had that effect on him. With her, what was there _not_ to smile about?).

"So, what were you listening to?" He had not recognised that music that he heard from the other side of the room. But he was curious as to what had caused his Ziva to become so lost in her own little world.

Wordlessly, Ziva's smile widened to seismic proportions. The cupboard that was in front of him was shut gently, and as his eyes followed the slender hand that belonged to his fiancée. As his eyes traced her body and finally met her eyes, he saw an interesting mix of fire and tenderness in her eyes. But it was that look that made a feeling shoot through his body. It was not lust, it was more than that. But that didn't mean that he would object if she took him, there and then. But before such a thought could become a reality, Ziva turned away, and Tony was the one left behind, following the seductive sway of her hips, as she led him to the living room.

Tony stopped in the centre of the room, and watched as Ziva moved to pull her IPod from her pocket and onto the small speaker system that was set up in the corner of the room. As a dance teacher, it was natural that Ziva had music breathed into the very deepest corners of her house, whether it was in the form of scattered CDs on the floor, or it was the large empty space that was her living room. Tony could picture Ziva at night rolling the large rug up just as she was doing now, and dancing until the early hours of the morning. The music began to play, just as Ziva tucked the rug neatly into the corner of the room, with the impeccable timing that only Ziva had (that crazy ninja chick). Turning back to Tony, Ziva smiled a soft mysterious smile, and looked him dead in the eye.

"You know," she said, taking a graceful step towards him, her postured changing from cleaning Ziva to Ziva the dancer, "I am amazing that you are engaged to a dance teacher, and yet you have not had any dance lessons."

"Not true," Tony replied, and at Ziva's curious look, he continued, "Age five my mum tried to put me into dance classes. But I got kicked out by the end of the first week."

"What did you do that was so wrong?" Ziva said.

"I spent the whole time flirting with the girls," tony said. Ziva raised her eyebrows. Apparently DiNozzo's started young.

"Well," she said, suddenly felling territorial, "there is only one dancer that you are allowed to flirt with…"

"That's not going to be a problem," Tony replied, leaning down to say the words in her ear. Ziva shuddered at the feeling, and she forced herself to move her head away abruptly.

"Don't do that," Ziva said, but she felt the need to explain at his mock hurt look, "if you continue like that we won't be having a dance lesson. And you are having a dance lesson."

The music that had begun softly began to make its presence known, as if jealous of Tony and vying for Ziva's attention.

"Really?" Tony said, as he listened to the music for the first time, "Do I look like a classical music kind of person."

Ziva let out a dramatically playful smile, but dutifully changed the track. However, the change of tune did not come as any comfort.

The opening lines of the song were seductive, the low bass and the suggestive melody sounded like it belonged in a Moroccan night club. Tony barely registered the sultry words singing about rusted brandy in a diamond glass. The look that Ziva was giving him made him think of less than pure thoughts, thoughts that were less to do with dancing, and more to do with activities that _did_ require physical activity, but did not require clothes…

Without breaking eye contact with Ziva, she changed the song again, and this time a slower, jazz kind of song flowed out of the speakers. Now this, he could deal with. The soulful vocals, the guitar solo that began it off. And as the main vocals kicked in, he could not help but admire the singer's voice (damn, that man had a set of pipes…). Despite the lyrics being generally pessimistic (who even was that thoughtful and gloomy?) the song was good. As Ziva walked over to him with grace and poise, and placed his hands on her body, his mood improved. He could definitely deal with this…

oooOOOooo

"MCGEE! I'M HOME!" Abby hollered into the apartment, announcing her presence to McGee, and anyone in a four block radius. She dropped her bag with a resounding thud on the floor, and kicked off her boots to reveal a pair of fluorescent toe socks underneath them. Socks that were totally loud, totally impractical, but totally her. Padding across the carpeted floors, she stuck her head into the kitchen, trying to find her Timmy. It was the end of the work day, and after a hard day with very little evidence to process, and so many clever machines that could practically run themselves, Abby was looking forward to

As she opened and closed doors, she heard a groan coming from the general area of the living room. Abandoning her systematic searching, she walked into the living room, where she found her aforementioned probie.

Sprawled on the couch with his head tilted back and his eyes closed, lay Timmy. Judging by his attire, he had been at the gym, and the fabric of his T-shirt indicated that it had not been a stroll in the park. A stroll in the park would not have produced so much sweat…

"Please don't make me move," Tim groaned, not opening his eyes.

"Who tired you out? That's my job," Abby said, flopping onto the couch too, but putting some distance between the two of them. She loved her Tim, but a sweaty Tim…

"Gibbs. We had no case, and he thought it would be a good idea to train us, while we had a spare moment. And then McGee registered what Abby had added at the end of her sentence, and what kind of activities that she was implying went on, "Abby! That's wrong!"

"Come on!" Abby said indignantly, "we all love Gibbs. He's like Superman. There is no shame in saying that you would take the chance if it ever c-"

"No. Just stop talking," Tim ordered. This conversation was getting too weird, too soon. He didn't even want to think about Gibbs in that way…. He shuddered at the thought.

Abby was not to be deterred, but listened to her boyfriend's wishes and changed the topic.

"So, what's for dinner, I'm starving…" she said, walking off to investigate whether the contents of the fridge made dinner a viable option.

"Wait, I'm coming," McGee said, and he pulled his aching body off the couch, hobbling after Abby. He was in pretty good shape, if he did say so himself. He had stopped eating all of that refined sugar and rubbish that did nothing but made his fatter. He had started going for runs every so often, doing crunches at the gym. But his body and his mind were not ready for the training that Gibbs wanted to inflict on him. So McGee had gone into the training session with a little confidence, only to have it and a number of his brain cells punched out of him. And now, two hours later, he could barely stand.

When McGee reached the kitchen, he saw that Abby had already had a start on dinner ideas.

"I want pancakes!" Abby said, and McGee smiled at her childish enthusiasm. However, he was going to have to rain on her parade.

"How about something, and then pancakes for dessert?"

Abby pouted at him, and then McGee could pinpoint the moment she decided that she was going to have to employ a different tactic. Stepping closer to him, she leaned up to whisper in his ear.  
"But I was angling for something else for dessert," she said, and McGee had to swallow hard at the low seductive tone her voice had taken. But he was still strong in his answer.

"If you play your cards right, you might get both," he said, and Abby seemed satisfied with that answer. And judging by the say she fell asleep with a sweet satisfied smile on her face, she was very satisfied with the results too…

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**_So, quiz questions. Cyber cookies for anyone who can name the last two songs that Tiva danced to in this chapter (it is pretty obvious.) leave your answer in your review! and please let me know what you think to this chapter! :)_**


	25. Chapter 25

**_YAY! WE BROKE THE 250 REVIEW MARK! :D :D_**

**_cyber cookies go to Robern, TheRoseShadow21 and Ellie-rae (on her second attempt) who all guessed correctly, that the songs were temptation and bitter and blue! shoutouts also go to aquablue205, Crazy-random-reader of hogwart, ForeignMusicLyrics and never-give-up-hope2, who got at least one of the songs right! :)_**

**_here is a belated slightly Valentine's Day themes chapter for you! enjoy!_**

**_DISCLAIMER: if I owned NCIS, do you seriously think I would be doing this?_**

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Chapter 25

It wasn't a good day, Ziva grumbled to herself as she catapulted herself from one room to the next, checking that all the windows were shut, and that none of the taps had been left running. And the worst part was the fact that it was only 0600.

"Tali, please wash up your breakfast dishes when you are done. Or at least soak your coffee mug, the strain won't come out otherwise," Ziva hollered down the corridor, pushing her hair back out of her face as she went. She wasn't looking forward to the rest of the day. There was a big audition going on in the city tomorrow, and all her senior dancers were practising like crazy so they had the best chance as possible of impressing their audience. Ziva was aware of how big a deal this was. All it took was one job. That one job was the difference between success and failure, the difference between doing what you love for a living, or just scraping by. She had always wanted to perform as a child, and she knew firsthand what a cut-throat world dancing could be on a good day. And she wanted to help these young men and women achieve their dreams. So she did understand why it was important that they all have lessons the day before the audition. She was just not convinced they all had to be with her.

As she swung open the door to her apartment, bent at the waist attempting to tie her laces with one hand, her head came into contact with a soft piece of material from the other side of the door.

"Woahhh, my ninja!"

Ziva looked up, expecting to see that it had been Tony's shirt clad stomach that she had just head butted. If that had been the case, she would have apologised. But her attention was drawn to the stuffed toy that was in his hands.

It was one of those ridiculously sized toys that looked like they belonged at an amusement park, or in Tony Story 3. The giant teddy carrying an equally enlarged heart, with "Be mine" stitched in loopy writing had a similarly cheerful expression as its owner, whose head was almost lost behind the mass of fur. It was then that she realised that it had been the toy that she had almost ran into head first (looking back, Tony had never been hairy on his stomach…).

And then it hit her.

February 14th. Valentine's Day.

She would be lying if she had said that the day had completely escaped from her mind. In every shop she had visited, the heavily commercialised holiday had been shoved in her face, in the form of half price chocolates and artificially coloured flowers. She had just not registered the date in her mind. In her mind, this was the crazy day before auditions, where she was expected to give private lessons to almost every senior dancer in the company, who wanted _her _in particular to give them their final words of advice before they walked the plank. But now the date was so very clear.  
"Shit," Ziva said.

"Wow, someone's in a good mood," Tony said sarcastically, and yet his good mood seemingly did not waver, as he looked almost as ridiculously happy as his fuzzy counterpart.

"I completely forgot…" Ziva trailer off, closing her eyes. Dammit. Her subconscious had been planning the day for a while, the meal she would cook him, and the ice cream they could eat sitting in front of the television. But clearly her plans had fallen through.

"You do look as if you have other stuff on your mind…" Tony said, tilting his head as if contemplating this new revelation, "let me guess, competition?"

"Auditions. And all my senior dancers want to have last minute rehearsals with me."

"Makes sense," said Tony, and at Ziva's look he continued, "you would want last minute words of advice from the best dancer in the company."

Ziva's smile was all the indication that Tony needed to confirm that it had been worth the struggle of climbing the stairs to Ziva's apartment carrying the furry monstrosity (as it turned out, it was hard to climb stairs when you could not see your feet).

"Have you been into the top drawer of your dresser today?" Tony asked, looking at the small vase of flowers on the hallway table and trying to look nonchalant. Ziva's eyebrows went up, and her eyes seemed to bore into his slightly turned head. Wordlessly Ziva slowly moved into her room, just as Tali made an appearance. Had Ziva turned around just then, she would have seen her little sister send Tony a big thumbs up, and Tony nod at her gratefully.

Ziva emerged from her bedroom a few moments later, this time carrying a white envelope with her name hastily scrawled on the paper. She was surprised that it had ended up there. How had Tony managed to get the envelope in her house without her noticing? His window would have been only the few minutes she was in the shower, and even then she would have noticed. It was amazing the lengths he went to, just to surprise her. And for that, she was eternally grateful.

She calmly secreted a knife from her being (Tony was trying to work out whether he found that really scary or just hot), and sliced open the envelope quickly and efficiently. Sliding her fingers in, she pulled out the piece of paper she found inside, and read it aloud.

"Pizza Express?"

"You and me. And pizza!" Tony said, as if it were the most earth shattering revelation that was known to man. But Ziva was looking slightly confused, so he felt the need to expand, "everywhere else is going to be full of loved up serious people. I figured we could do something different."

Ziva's smile told Tony everything that he needed to know. That she appreciated it. That she wanted it. That there hadn't been reason to smile lately, but now he had given her a reason. She had initially been surprised at his choice in restaurant. She had always pictured him as the type who would go all out on Valentine's day to impress the ladies. But then again, he had clearly impressed her. She was marrying him, after all…

"Tali, will you be alright on your own? And are you doing anything this evening with Finn?"

"I am twenty three, not three. And don't you think that Valentine's Day is merely a commercialised, overly glamorised holiday that gives corporations the opportunity to exploit the insecurities of the masses who are led to believe they must have toys and flowers if they want a fighting chance of achieving something as abstract as love?"

Tony looked over at Tali, trying to work out whether she was joking or not. He remembered commenting early on that Tali had both looks and the books, but in the time that he had got to know her, he had forgotten that fact. It took moments like these to remind him.

Ziva fixed Tali with a look, and Tali sighed.

"And yes, Finn is taking me to dinner."  
"Don't sound too happy about it then," Tony said.

"She loves it really," Ziva said, turning to Tony, but still able to see Tali send her a glare at the back of her head.

"So, I'll pick you up at six?" Tony said.  
"Sound good!" Ziva said smiling.  
"And one more thing," Tony said, and he lifted his arms, that were still full of fur "where should I put this?"

oooOOOooo

The evening drew nearer, and all around the city the flurry of activity was almost tangible. Singletons arranging girls nights in, bars full to the brim with men and women wishing to escape the dreaded holiday. But for some there was the flood of movement, as they attempted to surprise their loved one with a new dress, or a new pair of earrings to round off their outfit. And then there was Kate.

Kate sat in her living room, idly flicking through the channels, whilst balancing a plate of pasta on her lap. Cooking had once been something she took great pride in, but as the years dragged on and she became more and more single, the quality of her cooking slowly dropped until it was the bare minimum. Yes, she still prided herself in eating (fairly) healthily, with fresh ingredients that did taste good. But now she looked less for food that would taste good, and more at food that would fill her and not taste bad. There was a big difference then.

Kate had never been big on the whole Valentine's Day thing. She had never had a Valentine at school, and as she grew up she learnt that men didn't really have the romantic notions that her inner high school girl craved. So more often than not, she found herself wallowing in self pity.

Kate was roused from the cheesy predictable plot line by a knock on her door. Grumbling she set aside her plate of lukewarm pasta and slipped her feet into her slippers (a gag gift from Abby one year for Christmas). As she padded towards the door, she internally made a list of who may possibly be at the door, crossing each name off as they came to mind. By the time she reached the door she was none the wiser to who the presence behind the door was. So when she opened the door, she was surprised by her surprise.

"Ari?"

"Surprise?" he said sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders. This only drew attention to the bottle of wine and the chocolates that weighed down his arms.

"Come in," Kate said, sounding a little shell shocked. But then again, she had crashed his apartment earlier that week. She supposed that it was only fair that he did the same. The next questions was, why did he assume that she would be home alone on Valentine's Day?

"I am sorry I did not ring in advance. It is just a reliable source informed me that you would be alone tonight."

Well that answered her unasked question. Ari seemed to realise how creepy that sounded as soon as the words left his mouth.

"McGee. He tracked you cell."

"I am going to strangle him," Kate said deadpan. Every time Kate began to feel sorry for him, he would do something like that, and Kate remembered why she didn't like the kid.

"Please don't. He only told me because I threatened to tell Gibbs that I caught him and Abby making out on Gibbs desk."

Kate's eyebrows shot up.

"You caught them doing what?"

"I didn't but his reactions only confirmed it," Ari replied, and Kate laughed. This man was definitely a lawyer.

The two of them were settled in the living room with the television playing softly in the background. Ari had refused a plate of pasta (Kate was secretly pleased that he had, what with his kitchen and her not well exercised culinary skills), and now they sat, with a glass of wine each sharing his box of chocolates.

"I don't want to sound ungrateful," Kate said, between sips of wine (she had been shocked at the brand, and the price tag she knew would have come with it), "but why?"

"An old friend once told me," he started, picking a chocolate out of the box, "that Valentine's day in not a reason to treat a beautiful woman, but merely an excuse."

Kate was surprised at his answer, but in her mind it made sense. The profiler in her had already painted Ari as a family man, whose old fashion values were as clear as day. The woman in her revelled in these traits. Men, she had learnt very early on were pigs. Or at least, the ones she attracted. At a young age, she had always thought that it was her that was the problem. She repelled men, or she only attracted those types. But as she grew up she began to realise there were a number of combining factors that led to her relationship status. And that the lack of men like Ari were the reason for that.

"You should really stop doing that," she said, changing the topic a lighter one.

"Doing what?" Ari said, raising a quizzically brow. The skill of raising on eyebrow and one alone was not lost on Kate, who caught herself giggling at the sight.

When she caught her breath, she spoke again.

"Saying stuff," Kate said, waving her hands abstractly, as if those motions alone would clarify her words.

They didn't.

"You are going to have to be a little more specific," Ari said, bemused.

"Throwing compliments around," Kate said composing herself.

"And why would I do that?" he said jokingly.

"Because..." she said, but couldn't finish her sentence.

"How eloquently put," he said, and Kate heard the sarcastic wit she heard in Ziva on a number of occasions.

"We can't all be law school graduates," Kate shot back, tipping the last of her wine into her mouth. Over the rim of her glass she could see Ari's vaguely amused expression.

"Lawyers are more than smooth talkers," Ari said defending his profession.

"Oh yeah?"

Kate felt like she was spending too much time around Gibbs, because in true Gibbs fashion, she hated involving lawyers. She had learnt a long time ago that red tape might have the best of intentions, but there was only so far it could get you.

"You do not agree?"

Kate had to admire the way he asked things, gently probing, but never outright asking the question, giving her the option to get out of the situation if she so desired. She mused to herself ironically that it was probably that trait made Ari the lawyer he was.

"Lawyers are not bad people. They just get in the way."  
"Because we try and make sure everyone is equal?"

Kate was silenced momentarily by his words. This was a glimpse of the man she could picture as standing up for what was right and good in a court full of cynics.

"Surely we must not let one person decide the law. Surely we must give people a chance, no matter where they have been, or what they did. If they are willing to make amends, then why should we hinder that change?"

"And what about the lowest of the low who have no shame in what they did?"  
"But if we give them no legal representation, then what does that make us?"

Kate thought for a moment, masking her hesitance by plucking another chocolate.

"But this is getting too deep. How about a refill and a lighter topic?"

Kate nodded in consent, smiling at Ari's desire to remain peaceful. This man clearly had boundaries and a strong moral code. But his laid back attitude balanced out the intensity, and Kate found herself relaxing. Almost too much. She was scared about how open she could be with this man. Was it too much, too soon? But somehow she felt that she could trust this man. But was it the roaring of her heart engulfing the sounds of any sensible thoughts in her head?

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**_Thanks for reading! please leave a review! :)_**


	26. Chapter 26

**_Hey!_**

**_Thank you for the reviews! I am sorry I can't be more enthusiastic than this, but I am so tired. Like, literally, my eyes are about to fall asleep, and my eyes hurt. I'm really sorry that this chapter is a bit short, but I felt like I needed to upload something this weekend, seeing as next week is going to be crazy. sorry for such a sleepy intro..._**

**_DISCLAIMER: all characters= not mine_**

* * *

Chapter 26

The phone ringing at five o'clock in the morning was never going to be good news. Those were the first thoughts that entered Ziva's head, as she heard the shrill clang of her phone from her nightstand. Grumbling to herself, she cursed the overly cheerful ring of her mobile, and her eyes scrunched up in protest against the bright light. Looking at the caller ID through narrow eyes, she picked up.

"What?"

Her muddy brain clouded in sleep was awake enough to notice that it was her _darling_ brother who was attempting to call her at... She glanced over at the clock, five in the morning.

"They have released our father's body. His people want us to know whether we wish to return to Israel to observe Shiva.

"Who are they?" Ziva grumbled, trying to compute what was happening. The hour only added to the insanity of the moment, and Ziva's sleep fogged mind was unable to handle the pace.

"The FBI. They said something about pressure from Mossad to release the body," Ari replied, and Ziva envied his ability to sound so awake at such a ridiculous hour of the morning.

There was something strange about Ari referring to Eli David as their father in one sentence, and then as a cadaver in the next. It was as if one moment, Ari felt some kind of attachment to the late Eli David, and then the next he felt nothing at all. But she understood his turmoil. He had been older that her, and everything Eli made her do, Ari had to do, except five times better. Eli was never happy with what Ari did, but wanted what he did not do. Eventually, Ziva knew that he would crack under the pressure, and would do something drastic. She was glad that they all did not hang around to see that day.

"Are you?"

"I have not decided. I wanted to know what you and Tali were doing."

Ziva didn't like this pressure that she felt. Tali would most likely be looking to her for guidance. And she would have looked to Ari, what with him being her older brother, and her having some strange tie to him meaning she would always want to please him, no matter what. But he seemed so concerned with caring for his sisters that he was willing to abandon his feelings in favour of honouring his sisters' views. Which, as nice as it was at times, was annoying

"I will ask Tali in the morning."

"It is the morning," Ari said, and Ziva could practically see that irritating smirk on his face. In retaliation to his unsaid humour Ziva showed her appreciation by hanging up on him without another word.

Ziva lay back on the bed, after throwing her phone carelessly onto the night stand, marginally missing the mug of night-old green tea also on the surface.

Closing her eyes again, she tried to let the sleep she so desperately craved consume her once again. But her brother's call had shattered any hope she once had about the luxury. The thought of returning to the land of her birth filled her mind with images, the fuzzy type belonging to childhood, the type that didn't allow her to separate facts from fiction. Some were the product of storytelling from her mother, who told stories so vividly that she could have sworn she was there. Others were mere snapshots of the place she once loved, the yellow of the bright kitchen, the smell of exotic food from market stalls.

And then there were the painful memories. The memories of being so thirsty that when she eventually fell asleep at night, her dreams were filled with running streams and lakes. Memories of her mother and father arguing, and flying objects that would occasional catch one of the children in the crossfire.

Did she really wish to put herself through all that again? The past was just that, the past, and what good would it do her to revisit it?

Ziva lay there for hours, staring up towards the blank of the ceiling, trying to rearrange her matted thoughts. But as she heard the tell-tale signs of Tali moving out of her bed to splash her face with water in an attempt to wake herself up, she knew that all attempts had been futile, and that she might as well get up. Hauling her aching body out of bed, she padded across her room, and down into the kitchen.

"Morning," Tali said, drawing out the word, just to annoy Ziva.

"Hello," Ziva replied, rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands, and flicking on the kettle. Mercifully, the water boiled quickly, and Ziva poured herself a cup of tea quickly, desperate for her morning brew.

"Ari rang," Ziva said casually.

"Yeah I heard your phone go. It woke me up."  
"He said that FBI has released the body, and he wants to know whether we wish to attend Shiva in Israel," Ziva said.

"Are you going?"

"I was going to see what you were doing before making a decision," Ziva said, not willing to admit that she was too indecisive to make the decision independently.

"Can we afford the plane ticket?"  
Plane ticket. Ziva was in emotional turmoil, with advantages and disadvantages of the situation flying around her head at a million miles an hour. And Tali was asking if they could afford the plane ticket?

OK, maybe she Ziva could see her point.

"We can worry about that later," Ziva said dismissively.

"Is mum going?"

Ziva had to think about that one.

"I don't know, I'll ring her later."

"Don't bother. I'm going to go round for lunch, I'll ask her then," Tali turned to face Ziva full on, "now can we worry about this later? It's too early in the morning to be stressed out over it."

Ziva glared at her sister. But she did have a point. Maybe Ziva was making a big deal over something that really was nothing. Returning back to her childhood home would not change who she was, or determine who she became. She was not limited by memories of the past, she was exactly who she was now. Ziva David, owner of one of the most renowned dance schools in the city, and fiancée of Anthony DiNozzo. The final part was the part she liked the most. It would be good to visit her relatives to deliver the news of her impending marriage in person. And she could bring Tony, and they could visit all the places that she remembered from her childhood… A smile broke on Ziva's face. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all…

"Thanks," Ziva said to Tali. It was Tali's attitude that had triggered that train of thought after all…

"No problem…?" Tali said, shaking her head at her sister's retreating figure. And _she_ was the strange one…

oooOOOooo

"Hey, what are you doing next week?"

"Well hello to you too," Tony said as he walked into work, his gear slung over one shoulder as he carried his phone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

"Yes, hello. Now answer the question."

"What got your knickers in a twist, Miss David?"

"How do you feel about meeting my family?"  
"I thought I already did?" Tony said, dropping his stuff on the floor by his partition and plopping down on his chair.

"All of it," Ziva said, and her cheeky grin was almost audible.

"As in, your family in Israel?!" Tony said, now alarmed. It was bad enough meeting Ziva's outspoken mother, her protective older brother and her childish sister who was _going _to get him in trouble. Now he was going to meet the rest of the David clan? And from what he had heard from Ziva, it was a pretty extensive network of people. It was going to be quite something…

"What is the occasion?"

"They are transporting my father's body back to Israel," Ziva said, and Tony reached the root of the bizarre situation (not that anything about their situation was normal. For goodness sake, _she_ was the one who proposed to _him_…). Maybe this was Ziva's weird Mossad ninja way of asking for his support at a time when she needed him.

"OK, should I book the plane tickets?"

Tony heard a noise of protest.

"What is it with everyone this morning and plane tickets?!"

Tony's eyebrows shot up as he heard the dial tone that signalled Ziva hanging up (she had been spending far too much time around Gibbs…). Was it something he said?

Tony turned back to his desk, and unholstered his sidearm. Booting up his computer, he flicked his phone open to check on his twitter account. Not that he would tell anyone that he had a twitter account. Because most likely, Kate would make a comment about him following another man's tweets… Speaking of the devil…

Kate breezed into the squad room with one of those expressions on her face. The type that mean that she was trying so hard not to smile, but she was too happy not to smile. And Tony would not have been Tony if he did not make a comment about it.

"Well someone is in a good mood," Tony said, "good Valentines day?"

Tony and Ziva had spent the evening as promised laughing and joking by the half light of Pizza Express. It hadn't been like one of the scenes in those movies he so dearly loved, where the lighting was perfect, and his woman was in a beautiful cocktail dress. In his scene, the beautiful woman was his fiancée, who didn't need anything more that her after-work tracksuit to look stunning. It may not have been a scene out of a movie, but it had been real. And reality was so much sweeter…

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did," Kate said, and to say Tony was surprised was an understatement. Kate was never the kind of woman who admitted that kind of thing. But her encounter last night had clearly left her acting like an internally squealing fangirl…

"So, who is the lucky one?" Tony said, leaning his head on his hands to look at Kate more closely as she slipped off her jacket and slung it over the orange partition.

"No-one…" she said trailing off, the smile never leaving her face. And then she seemed to abruptly realise her expression "damn, what am I, in high school?"

"So, who was it?"

"Why do you immediately assume there was a man involved?" Kate shot back, eyes narrowed.

"I never said anything about a man…" Tony said, and Kate was trying to decide whether to kill him, or not. But then she decided that the wrath of Ziva was too much hassle to deal with.

It was at that moment that Gibbs decided to grace them with his presence, breezing in with his signature cup of coffee steaming in his hands.

"Morning boss. Kate wanted to tell you something," Tony said, cutting in before Kate could protest. Gibbs looked expectedly at Kate, who overcame her initial shock to speak.  
"I didn't have anything to say," Kate denied. Gibbs cocked his eyebrow at her, and she sighed.

"Tony wants me to spill about the man I spent Valentine's Day with. I refused."

It was at moments like these that Gibbs felt like he was the father to this merry bunch of misfits, whether he embraced it or not. With a smirk, he decided to mess with them, just a little bit.

"Well?" he said, drawing out the word an uncharacteristic drawl.

Kate's eyebrows shot up under her fringe.

"You too?" Kate said, and then she sighed, "Children. I work with children."

Kate thought for a moment.

"You keep asking me, I'll tell McGee that you have a twitter account."

It was just at that moment that McGee walked into the squad room, only catching the last words of the sentence.

"Who has a twitter account?"  
"No-one," Tony said, too quickly to look natural. McGee gave him a look, but decided to leave it. For the moment.

"McGee," Kate said, remembering how Ari told her that it was McGee who gave away her location last night, "Do you make a habit of giving strangers the location of your co-workers."

Suddenly McGee looked terrified, and Tony was flashing back to the days when McGee could not get a word to Kate out without stuttering like crazy. Back when McGee was a probie in every sense of the word. Those were the days…

"Ermmm… well, Ari isn't a stranger?" McGee said, and Tony's eyes lit up in realisation.

"It was Ari! You spent the evening with Ari!"

"I am going to kill you," Kate said to McGee, and McGee swallowed loudly. The way Kate said it made the words sound more like a promise than a threat. But it was too late. The secret was out.

"Ari Haswari?" Gibbs said, and Tony's nod confirmed his suspicions.

Gibbs still felt something of an unease about this man. And the fact that he was trying to become romantically involved with Kate did not alleviate his suspicions. But Kate was a grown woman, and capable of taking care of herself. And he was her friend, her boss. Nothing more. Any feelings that he may have felt had dissipated into something that hardly amounted to anything. In another life, he may have pursued her romantically. But in this life, the circumstances, his past and her future did not align. And he was good with that. As long as she was happy.

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**_Review? :D_**


	27. Chapter 27

**_Greeting my little marshwiggles!_**

**_I forgot to mention last chapter, but the idea for the David children to attend Shive was from the lovely Summer95, whose words of support have been so encouraging. This chapter is dedicated to you!_**

**_Thank you all for the reviews, there is never going to be enough words to thank you all for taking the time to review. You people inspire and motivate me!_**

**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own NCIS. you happy now! :( XD_**

* * *

Chapter 27

McGee hurried to Abby's lab, jacket tails flying like the unlikely super hero he was, summoned by the words of a damsel in distress. Or at least, the writer in him wished that it were true. Reaching her open door, he picked up the place further, and hurtled into Abby's lab to save his black beauty from whatever perils that may have lay there.

"I just got your text, and I got here as soon as I could," McGee said as he came within earshot to Abby's turned figure, trying to not feel smug about the fact he had not ran out of breath from his expedition. Trying, and failing. Tony had been right, he had lost weight. But that was because he had stopped eating junk, and had actually visited the gym. Healthy changes that had led to a healthier him.

Abby turned around, and McGee could see the worry that radiated from her slightly moist green eyes, that had lost their previous sparkle of joy. Wordlessly, she held out her phone, McGee caught sight of the text message that had appeared on her screen.

_**From Tony: I am being held against my will by the tribe of Davids. Come save me?**_

McGee's face broke into a large grin from Tony's words. What an idiot. But the glare that he was receiving from Abby seemed to tell him that smiling was a wrong move.

"Abby, he is joking, you do know that. Right?" McGee said, seeking some kind of reassurance that his girlfriend was kidding. He didn't find anything.

"But what if he is in trouble?" Abby said indignantly, fully convinced that Tony was in trouble, and was just waiting for them to rush in to rescue him.

"Then Gibbs would already be in Israel beating up whoever dare hurt Tony, and then dragging Tony back to DC by the ears for disturbing him while he was trying to work," McGee said deadpan, and Abby just glared at him.  
McGee sighed in resignation, and pulled Abby into a hug, pressing a kiss on her head.

"He is fine. You don't need to worry about him," McGee said, his voice muffled as he spoke into her hair, "he is having fun. He just sent me this picture."  
McGee extracted himself from Abby's arms, and pulled out his phone with the hand that wasn't still cradling Abby's. Swiping across the screen, he came to the image that Tony had sent him the other day. When Abby lifted her head from McGee chest to look at the screen she smiled. So this was why McGee hadn't been worried.

The picture had clearly been taken by someone else, as both Ziva and Tony were in it. They were inside, their faces lit up by artificial light that only belonged indoors in the darkening evening. The two of them were curled up a sofa, their eyes closed, looking exhausted. Tony's arm was casually slung over Ziva's body, territorially holding her close. But it was not Tony who Abby was looking at.

"Is that a tattoo?!" Abby said, and McGee looked again. Ziva was wearing a tiny pair of shorts that had apparently ridden up as she slept, and on the back of her upper thigh was what appeared to be a tiny tattoo. McGee raised his eyebrows. He had not expected Ziva to be the kind of person who had tattoos. Not that he had anything against tattoos. His favourite person in the world had tattoos…

Just then Abby's phone chirped into life, and Abby manoeuvred them round so she could remain in McGee's arms, but still pick up the phone. Hitting the button and putting the call of speaker, she answered.

"Forensics."  
"Abby," the voice on the other end of the phone said, and Abby recognised it immediately.

"Tony! I miss you! I got your text, how are you?"  
"Yeah, I'm good! How are things back home?"

"Pretty quiet. No new cases, so McGee is getting bored up there. Say hi McGee," she ordered him.

"Hey Tony. How is it going with meeting the in-laws?" McGee said, leaning over so he could be heard more clearly.

"Naturally, they love me," McGee rolled his eyes at his arrogance, "Ziva and her clan are going wedding dress shopping, so I am going out with Ari. If I don't come back, question him first, you got it."

Abby grinned, "so, what is Ziva's tattoo of?"

"Which one?" Tony answered, and Abby's eyes widened in shock.

"She has more than one?!"

"I've said too much," Tony said, "sorry, I need to go, Ari is giving me evils, and he looks too much like Ziva when he does that."

"OK, call soon!"

"Bye," Tony said, and Abby clicked him off. Turning to McGee she grinned, satisfied that Tony was fine. At least, he was at that moments…

_Tel Aviv, Israel_

Tony flicked his phone shut, and turned around in search for Ari.

"Shall we go?" Tony said brightly, trying to hide the fear he felt. This had been the first time he had been alone with Ari, and there was something about the man who oozed a dark confidence. Ziva had briefly mentioned Ari's past in Mossad, and this didn't placate him at all. If anything, the less she told her, the more was left up to his own imagination. Which was not good, for someone who had watched as many movies as Tony DiNozzo. That on top of the fact Ari was Ziva's older brother, and took his job very seriously did not reassure him in any way, shape or form.

"Do I scare you?"

Tony about jumped a mile, as Ari seemed to appear out of nowhere and in front of him in Gibbs fashion. Tony had left Ari in the living room to call Abby in the kitchen and Tony thought that Ari was still there. But he was clearly mistaken.  
"No!" Tony said in response, and Ari raised an eyebrow at Tony. Just the one eyebrow. That man had crazy skills.

"OK, maybe a little," Tony admitted.

"A little?" Ari said, motioning with his thumb and finger.

"Just a little," Tony said, mimicking Ari, but putting his digits closer together. He couldn't let Ari think that his sister was marrying a complete wuss.

"Well if it is of any reassurance, I will not kill you whilst Ziva still likes you."

It wasn't of any reassurance.

Ten minutes later, Tony found himself on the streets of Beer Sheva, squinting his eyes against the bright light of the Sun. Tony didn't know what to expect when he thought of Ziva's hometown. But the one thing he expected was true. It was very _very _hot.

Ari walked by his side in silence, with the cool grace of a local, but with reservations. Tony could see that the man's eyes were never still, always moving to take in everything.

"It must be strange to be back," Tony said, trying to guess why Ari looked so hesitant.

"I cannot believe that I am here again," Ari said, his voice almost being lost among the noise. They were walking through market place, noises ringing from either side, as stall owners attempted to sell them things in Hebrew. Tony's appearance was clearly screaming tourist, and as soon as they saw him they switched to butchered English. Ari weaved skilfully between stalls, until they emerged from the darkness. The place was a strange mesh of old and new, desert and urban. And it was not just Tony who was disconcerted by it all.

"I need a drink," Ari said, and Tony followed him into a shaded area, where a small stand was selling cold drinks. Paying for two bottles of water, Ari passed one to Tony, and they sat down together.

Tony let silence fall between the two of them, realising that Ari was going to need a few moments before he said anything. Ziva had an equally distant look about her when they had first got to her Auntie's house, and Tony knew the feeling. The feeling that came with thinking you would never return to a place again, and then seeing it again, trying to work out if it was a dream.

"What's changed?" Tony asked finally, figuring it would be good for Ari to talk about it, rather than go all Mossad warrior on his ass and bottle up, like Ziva knew how to do so well.

"There are more cars. And more noise. But it is exactly the same," Air said distractedly.

"Is that a good thing," Tony asked. There was a pause as Ari contemplated.

"I will get back to you on that one," Air said, a smile forming lightly on his face.

"I got what Ziva means about American summers being cold. This place is boiling," Tony said, feeling that a change in subject and lighter conversation was needed.

"Ziva seemed to get on well with the Sun. She was always the first one to be out of bed and outside when we were younger. She loved it," Ari said wistfully.

"She still loves the Sun. And the snow."

"It is never cold enough to snow here. We only ever saw snow in the States."

"And the novelty has clearly no worn of," Tony said, remembering the first time he saw Ziva in the snow…

_*Flashback*_

"_Ziva, it's freezing."  
"Yes, and it is also snowing."  
"Do we have to?"  
"YES!" two heads of two David girls whipped around as he dare insinuate that they did not go out in the snow. It was a cold December morning, and when Tony had woken up to see that snow had fallen over the city over night, his first thought was of how heavy the traffic was going to be because of it. But there were apparently people with more childish views. People who saw staying indoors while it was snowing would be like been given chocolate, and then not eating it. And two of those people were Ziva and Tali. Tony saw identical looks of joy and excitement in both the Davids' eyes, and he knew that resistance was futile. _

"_Fine, I'm coming," and against his better will he got out of the warm confines of the car, and stepped into the cold. All around, he could hear the joyful cries of children with parents in tow throwing snowballs around and making snowmen. It was a happy sight that belonged in a movie or on a set. But Tony could not help but feel how cold it was. Turning himself around to close the car door behind him, he felt something cold and icy impact on the back of his head. And then he felt another. Turning his head around, he glared trying to find the culprits. The snowy gloved Tali and Ziva grinned sheepishly back and him, and he figured that he was here now. He might as well join in. Scooping up a handful of snow, he saw the two look at each other and in exact synchrony, they shouted at each other. _

"_SCATTER!"_

_*end of flashback*_

Tony could almost feel the cold of the snow down his neck, and reminiscent with great affection about cold. In the hot sticky Middle Eastern climate, cold was the furthest thing from their situation. But a man could dream.

"So, how was your Valentine's Day?" Tony said, deciding that if Ari had intentions with Kate, he was going to find out about them at some point. That point may as well have been now.  
"You are in a foreign country, surrounded by new sights and sounds, and you wish to discuss my relations with your co-worker?" Ari said amused.

"Yes," Tony said, not to be deterred by Ari's deadpan sarcasm.

Ari sighed, knowing that he was not going to get out of having this conversation.

"Kate and I spent the evening together. What else is there to say?"

"What are your intentions with her?"  
"How does this concern you?"

"I need to know whether to let you live or not," Tony said, and Ari actually laughed out loud at him.

"You are going to

* * *

marry my little sister. You are the one who should be fearing for your life," Ari said. And Tony was stumped. Touché.

"This is very strange," Air said, repeating himself, and leaning back in his chair. Tony was in agreement. Yes it was weird…

oooOOOooo

Ziva couldn't help but think how strange the whole situation was. She was sitting with all her aunties and cousins and nieces, at a table, discussing wedding plans and coaster designs. In her homeland. As one of her nieces interjected something into the conversation, Ziva couldn't help but think how much things had changed without her. The last time she had seen that niece was at her 10th birthday party. Now she was all grown up, with her own life and her own career. That same little girl who she had once had to rock to sleep, because Ziva was babysitting, and the girl had been woken from a nightmare.

"So, what do you think?"

Ziva turned back to the conversation to see the faces of many David women staring back at her expectedly.

"Sarah asked if Tony was good in bed, and then your sister said that was inappropriate, and Sarah said to let you say it," Rivka paraphrased, and Ziva's mouth opened and closed in shock.

"Ima!" Ziva said incredulous, and everyone laughed hysterically. And it was at those moments that Ziva remembered what she was missing. She remembered why she didn't want to leave Israel, why she had resisted when her mum had told her what was going to happen. But when she came back, things began to come together. Yes, things had changed back home. But she had changed. And she was OK with that. She didn't need the past to define who she was. She was better than that.

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**_I would love it if you left a review! thank you for reading! :D_**


	28. Chapter 28

**_Hey!_**

**_I was not planning in uploading a new chapter, but strangely this chapter kind of just came to me! Don't you just love it when that happens! :D although, I did struggle with the ending, so I am sorry if it sucks! :P_**

**_in response to bdn1313, who asked when the Tiva wedding will be (I figured I'll answer this here, because others of you might be wondering), I have not decided. However, if any of you have any ideas, please leave them in a review!_**

**_DISCLAIMER: I own the cousins. But no other characters._**

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Chapter 28

Tony had been lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling for hours, watching the light dance in and out of the creases in the space above his head. He had never liked sleeping in strange places, preferring his own bed as the place where he could get his good night worth of sleep. The room was nice enough, with light beige walls and a high ceiling with dark wooden beams for support. When they had first got there, Ziva had told him how she used to come stay in that very room when she was a kid. And she couldn't quite get over the fact that he was there, that past and present were merging in this strange paradox that was life.

And on top of the craziness, he had still no adjusted fully to the strange time difference, and his body still believed that it was back in Washington DC, where the temperature was low and the blood alcohol levels were high. But he wasn't, as he came to realise. But his body was going to pay for this lack of sleep at some time. He just hoped that it picked a good time to crash land.

The thin sheets that covered his body were not apparently thin enough, and Tony felt his body sticky with sweat. He had never liked the heat, logically deciding that he would rather be too cold than too hot. If he was too cold, he could just put on another layer. If he was too hot, there were only so many layers that he could take off.

Tony reached over to the table next to the bed and flicked open his phone, checking for any messages that had come through from DC during the night. One solitary message sat there, waiting patiently for his fingers to tap the correct buttons and opened the message.

_Are you still alive? Abby xx_

Tony smiled at the message. Abby had been worried sick at his message the other day (McGee had called him after their conversation to properly tell him off for scaring Abby). Tony therefore felt that it would probably not be in his best interest to scare Abby again, not to risk the wrath of a pissed off probie. Tony may have been able to take the younger man on physically, but in the cyber world, Tony stood no chance. McGee could probably wipe his bank account squeaky clean by purchasing inflatable voodoo dolls. Or even worse. He could externally wipe his Tivo.

Tony quickly shot back a message to assure Abby that he was alive and well, and naturally wooing all of Ziva's relatives. Well, almost all of them

_*Flashback*_

_When Tony signed up for meeting the family, he had been aware that Ziva's family was big. Ziva had warned him about the countless amounts of aunties and uncles she had. But she had seemingly forgotten to mention the amount of cousins she had. Or more specifically, the amount of cousins who were willing to tear him limb from limb if they did not like him. _

_Walking into the David household on the first night of their arrival had been the most terrifying experience of his life. It seemed that the Israeli took any excuse to throw a good family reunion, so the medium sized house that had previously had a calm and orderly aura about it was filled to the brim with loud raucous men and women, who held the belief that if they spoke louder, it would make the situation better. That did work to a certain degree. But it didn't work when all of them were trying to do it, all at the same time. _

_Ziva had temporarily left Tony's side (something about a lost baby cousin and a washing machine…) and Tony was idly walking around, trying to not be noticed by anyone. Trying, and failing. He seemed to be the only American in the room, the only one who was not speaking Hebrew. And it threw him. Some made the effort to speak in English, for his sake. Some did not. _

_Tony was attempting to look extremely enthralled by a stain on the floor, which he could have sworn had not been there before. However, by looking down, he did not see the wall of pure muscle that he was approaching, and very soon, walking straight into. _

"_Wooahh!" _

_Tony looked up and tried not to gulp. In front of him was an array of cousins, all looking bigger and more bad-ass than the next. He could tell by looks alone that most of them had served some time in the Israeli armed forced, with the hair cut or tattoos to prove it. The others looked like that could take him down without breaking into sweat. And that was just the women. _

"_You are Ziva's fiancé, yes?" the man said to Tony, his slightly accented English making Tony feel intimidated already. And the man had only said five words to him. The man had a physical presence that oozed this confidence that Tony could not compete with. He had the same bone structure as Ziva, and the same dangerous dark eyes. _

"_That I am. And you are?" Tony said, a cheery smile plastered to his face to mask the fear in his heart. These people could take him down if he pissed them off. He was going to have to watch his step with these ones… _

"_Amiad. Ziva's cousin."_

"_Well hi! Good to meet you," Tony said, "Are you all Ziva's cousins?"_

_The nods from various parts of the group confirmed his suspicions. Tony could feel the weight of their glared, they all had that similar look about them that Ziva had when she was pissed. But times by fifteen, and it was defiantly more scary. _

"_You done hazing the new guy?" a voice from Tony's right called, and all of them whipped around to see who it was. Ari emerged from the group, and the previously stony face of Amiad broke into a grin. _

"_Ari," he said, pulling him into a manly hug, "it had been too long."_

"_It has. You should come my way."_

"_There is one of you, and many of us. Would it not be easier for you to come to us?" Amiad said._

"_Well played," Ari said jovially, and then turned back to his initial query, "have you finished giving him a hard time."_

"_No, not yet," one of the women from the side called out, and Ari grinned. _

"_Back off, Lea," Ari said smiling. And then his smile vanished, and Tony was sufficiently creeped out, "It's my job to kill him if he hurts Ziva."_

_Tony was at loss of words, out of fear and terror. He had made good ground with his relationship with Ari, but it was at moment like those where he questioned his friendship. The man still scared the hell out of him. _

"_Amiad!"_

_Tony turned around in time to hear that the shocked excited words had emerged from none other than his fiancé's own mouth. Before he knew it, Ziva was in Amiad's arms, having to just to make up the vertical distance between the two of them. Wrestled into a traditional flowing dress, Ziva was the vision of beauty. Ziva had been cooed and compliments were lavished upon her as she entered the house, and Tony had never seen her look so happy and open before. She smiled readily, and hugged so many people. And the tight hug that she gave Amiad just there was the last confirmation that Tony needed that Ziva was enjoying her time. _

"_Are you done bullying my fiancé?" Ziva asked Amiad as they drew apart. _

"_Let me think about it," Amiad said, pretending to think hard, tilting his head to one side, "Nope."_

_Ziva punched him in the arm, and Amiad pretended to be injured just to make Ziva laugh. _

_Ziva then turned to Lea, and much to the surprised of Tony, Lea lashed out at Ziva's face. However, this seemed like some kind of private joke, one that Ziva was fully expecting, and Ziva dodged out of the way, grabbing Lea's arm as she did so.  
"Still got it," Lea said to Ziva approvingly, and Ziva laughed, pulling the other girl into a hug. Tony had never seen such a bizarre greeting, and yet it seemed all very natural. Natural that Ziva should be there in her home town, interacting with people from her past. And natural that he was there with her, every step of the way. _

Tony thought over all the events of the previous night. The get together had lasted well into the night, with Ziva only flopping down on the couch beside him at 0200 when all the guests had gone home, and all who were left was Ziva, Tony, Ari Tali and Aunt Nettie, the auntie who had allowed the David children plus Tony to stay. Tony did not doubt that they were all shattered, but buzzing from the adrenalin and the happiness. And the time difference.

Tony swung his legs out of bed, deciding that he might as well do something, now that he was up. Pulling on a shirt (he was sure that Ziva's aunt Nettie would not appreciate his state of undress), he walked out of the room, and into the bathroom, where he splashed his face with the cold water and ran his toothbrush over his teeth thoroughly. Shaking off the droplets, he wiped his hands and made his way downstairs in an attempt to find Ziva. Or food. He wasn't fussy. But he was hungry.

Something that he had learnt in the limited time he had been there is that the food was good. Whether it was a light snack, or a full on meal, the Davids knew how to eat. He was certain that he was going to put on a few pounds in the next few days…

As Tony walked downstairs, he was able to take in the house's appearance without the many noisy Davids that had previously inhabited it. The house was fairly spacious, with an open plan style that had made it perfect for the party the night before. There was enough room for the white washed walls to make the desired impact, and the house looked large spacious and airy.

"Come help me with these."

Tony turned around to see that it was Ari, shirtless (Tony was glad he had put his shirt on. He could never compete with those abs…), and carrying a variety of food from the kitchen to the dining room. Tony could recognise some of the array of food, the cheeses and vegetables. But some of the pastries were a mystery to him.

Following Ari's orders (the man still scared him a little…), Tony walked into the kitchen, and took what he assumed was part of breakfast into the dining room. In the cool light room that was the dining room, he found Ziva, ready for the day.

"Morning sweetcheeks," Tony said, putting the tray down, and moving to kiss Ziva lightly on the cheek. However, Ziva wasn't satisfied by his morning greeting, and left her hands on him, using him as leverage to pull herself to her feet.

"Let's try that gain, shall we?" she said softly, moving her face so close to his that her breath fanned across his face. Tony grinned with the knowledge that he had just brushed his teeth, thanking God for this foresight, and reached down to press his lips against hers, properly this time.

Ziva felt Tony's lips against hers softly at first, but she didn't want that. She wanted more. She had not slept well last night, partly due to the adrenalin pumping around her body, and partly to do with the fact she was aware that Tony was in the other room, but could not go and be with him. She craved his touch, just a simple feel of his arms around her, running up and down her arms so lightly that she couldn't breathe. Thoughts like that had kept her up, clouded her mind until she could not function normally, but needed him. Only when this hunger was quenched, that would be when she could rest peacefully. She did not like relying on something or someone so heavily. But this was Tony, and whether she liked it or not, she needed him. The mere notion of his just being there comforted her in such a profound way that she could not understand. But she did not need to understand. She just needed him.

Pressing her lips against her, she demanded more from him, pushed him to give her more. Tony seemed initially taken aback, but took it all in his stride, pressing himself more fully against his body, and running his hands along the skin of her arms left exposed by her tank top. He swallowed the shudders of her heat, pressing his lips against her fully, nibbling her bottom lip, before taking her whole bottom lip into his mouth and sucking gently, Ziva moaning at the sensation. Ziva's hands moved around his waist, using all she had to pull him closer, so she could feel everything he was against her body. She needed his closeness, needed his touch.

They eventually broke apart, and Ziva watched the fire in Tony's eyes dim to something softer.

"Well that was nice," Tony said, and Ziva rolled her eyes at him. He was such a weirdo.

At the sound of Nettie clattering into the dining room the two of them moved apart slightly, but throughout the meal they remained close, touching each other's hands of knuckles while they had a free hand.

"So, what are you kids doing today?" Aunt Nettie asked between mouthfuls.

"I am seeing some old school friends," Ari said, "and Tali is coming with me."

Aunt Nettie turned to Tony and Ziva next, and Ziva turned.

"I guess it's just you and me."

And Tony liked the sound of that. He liked the sound of that a lot.

* * *

**_I realised I haven't rewritten a kiss scene in a while, so I included one. But I'm a bit rusty... was it OK? :)_**


	29. Chapter 29

**_Hey? Ermm… hello *raises hand awkwardly* if you still remember me?_**

**_Yeah, it's been a while, and I am SO SORRY! There was WAY too much going on in real life to get in the way of my writing life. But this chapter is SUPER long to make up for it?_**

**_thank you so much for the reviews, you people are my motivation! so let's make a deal, if I get to 300 reviews by Friday (EEK!), I will write a chapter and post it on Saturday. That's two chapters in one week! XD_**

**_writing this chapter was difficult, as I have never been to Israel or Tel Aviv. So if anyone from there wants to point out any errors I've made with regards to the whole atmosphere/geography, feel free!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. I do however, own the plot!_**

* * *

Chapter 29

Tel Aviv was a busy place at the best of times. Ziva had always remembered it as one, with the life that seemed to emanate from the people and the buildings being almost tangible. There was something in the air, something that was so familiar to her, and yet the place wasn't just as she remembered. Not that she expected it to be like her memories, she didn't expect to walk into the place like it was a dream, or a dream of a dream. She had always kept up to date with the current affairs of the place, and knew what was going on in her country. But there were some things that were never recoded, some things that you had to see with your own eyes. And it was these things that came as a shock for Ziva. Was there really this much pollution, were there really so many impersonal faces and names? This may have been the place of her childhood, but it was certainly not the same place.

"And I thought the States were busy," Tony said to her, having all but abandoned the pretence of enjoying the hot climate. Ziva smirked at him. She was revelling in the heat, the way the Sun fell so liberally on her skin as she strolled through the place she used to call home. As she passed buildings and shops, she couldn't help but fantasise about what it would have been like, had she never left the place. These streets would be just as much a part of her as Tali and Ari. But there were something that she could not see her life without. Like the benefits of American fast food, and greedy globalisation. And her dance studio. And Tony.

"Ziva, is that you?"

Ziva hadn't been looking at the faces as they passed the two of them on the streets. But when the voice called out, she found herself face to face with a man who she had not seen in years.

"Malachi?"

Malachi one of those childhood faces that had never left her mind. She still had old photos of the two of them playing in the garden, on those beautiful days where her father had gone off on business trips to the far flung corners of the earth, leaving his children in the capable hands of their mother, who allowed them to do all that their father had forbade them from doing. One of those things was playing with the other children, and Malachi, a friend from school, and neighbour, became her faithful companion for those times. He was a childhood friend, but as they got older there was always something there. The friendship was undeniable. But sometimes Ziva saw something in Malachi, something that she had never seen in any other man. Maybe it was the way they were able to relate on a level. Where some kids talked about toys and books and television, Ziva and Malachi would talk about knife throwing or dirty bombs, or politics. They collectively impressed their teachers at school, but even at that age they could sense the teachers' apprehensions. And it had to be said, their talents were impressive. But also a little bit scary.

Malachi knew more than anyone what it was like to have a father like Eli David. His own father was a military career man, the kind who wasn't afraid to tell his son about the horrors of wars, and tell his son what to think. There was nothing that Malachi could do that could please his father. When Malachi ran, his father told him to run further. When Malachi did well at school, he should have done better. And in the secret of the night, when Ziva and Malachi found themselves talking to each other when there was no-one else to talk to, they share their pain and sorrow. They were twelve at the time.

Malachi had been the only one who had told her to keep safe before her mission to Somalia. It was by pure coincidence that he was at the embassy the day that Ziva was meeting her team and flying out to Africa, and it was pure chance that Ziva had excused herself to use the toilet at the same time Malachi had dropped in to see his father at work. In the corridor, they had met, and after the initial explanations and reasons, Malachi hugged her for the first time, whispering a warning in her ear, and telling her to remain sharp and vigilant. And that was the last time she ever saw him.

"Malachi?"

Back in the present day, Ziva's eyes widened at the sight of such an old friend. It could not be him. Surely…?"  
"Yes, it's me. Malachi Ben-Gidon?"

"Yes, yes, I know who you are," Ziva said hastily, in an attempt not to trivialise the friendship they had shared all those years ago. He was older, and looked tired in his ways. Gone was the slightly youthful boyish grin, and he had definitely filled out. He was no longer lanky and lean, but had gained at least a couple of pounds worth of muscles. And for the first time in their lives, he was taller than her.

"Ziva! I mean…wow?" Malachi said, and Ziva could understand his loss of words. What do you say to the girl you used to know?

"How have you been?" Ziva said, and then she winced at how strange the words were. But what could she say? The few words she said was swallowed by the hum of the city, as the three of them stood still among the crazed city movement.

"I have been well. But the question is, where have _you_ been? The rumour mill back at Mossad was going crazy when you and your family left."

"There were rumours?" Ziva asked. She had never really given much thought to what others may think to their hurried departure. She had always just assumed that she was of too little importance to generate any kind of gossip on scuttlebug.

"There were many. Some claimed you have been on another mission. Some said that you never came back from Somalia."

"People knew about Somalia?"

"It was impossible not to know. Agent Paulo marched into the Director's office and resigned extremely loudly after your return from the place. Was yelling about using children to fight an adults' war. I think everyone in a five mile radius heard," Malachi responded.

"And people thought _I_ was the reason he resigned?"  
"You caused quite an uprising. Many seniors left because of it. It's a wonder it did not hit the media"

It was in the silence when Ziva was attempting to process the past few moments that Tony felt the need to point out his own existence.

"Be glad that news never hit the US. American Israeli ties are strained enough as they are."  
"And you are?" Malachi turned to Tony, first content with ignoring the American tourist, but deciding that it was going to be too difficult, what with Tony addressing them directly.

"Oh, this is Anthony DiNozzo. My, ermmm, fiancé," Ziva said nervously, reigning control over her vocal chords.

"You're getting married?!"

"I am," Ziva said, and Malachi took a minute to peel his eyebrows from off the ceiling. Which was difficult, seeing as they were outside.

"We're just about to go to lunch. Come with us?" Ziva said. And just then Malachi got a glimpse of that hopeful child, desperate for attention from her father, and only wanting to be smiled at, or praised.

"I am currently on my lunch break, perhaps we can meet again this evening?"

And with that a time and place were settled. This was going to be a strange dinner date…

oooOOOooo

As the bus pulled to a stop, Ari and Tali stepped out onto the pavement, out of the cool bus and into the intense midday heat. Everywhere, locals and tourists alike were seeking refuge from the Sun's harsh rays, inside buildings or in the shadows of tall monstrosities of buildings that emerged from the concrete like a resurrected spirit.

Ari could feel a presence behind him before he could see one. And yet as he felt a pair of arms hug him from the back, he had to fight off all his instincts not to lash out.

Once the arms had released him, Ari was fess to turn around and face his attacker, with a grin etched onto his face.

"There is no-one else in the world I know who would be as stupid to approach me like that," Ari said, pulling the man into a hug. Joseph was a tall lean man, who had a careless attitude that rivalled Tony's. Even back when they were in school together, Joseph was reckless and unwise, but had an uncanny ability that allowed him to remain alive. And it was that trait that made him the most constant of companions in their joint army days.

As Ari released Joseph from the hug, Joseph seemed to catch sight of Tali for the first time.

"Hello Joseph," Tali said slowly.

"Hi," Joseph replied, his previous grin replaced with something else. Ari could see what was happening. And he didn't like it.

"Hey, stop flirting with my sister," Ari said gruffly.

"I was just saying hello!" Joseph cried indignantly.

"For you, that is flirting," Ari said deadpan, and Tali laughed at his off sense in humour.

Ari left Joseph grumbling to Tali, and turned to see another man.

"Nathan," Ari said, but this time the hug they shared was less casual than the previous. Ari had never regarded Nathan as an equal, but more as a man who was eternally wiser than he could ever hope to be. He spoke little, but the intelligence he had was far beyond his years. But Ari had known him to come up with the strangest and most unexpected lines that could leave a room in hysterics for days to come.

"And Tali," Nathan said, turning to the other sibling, taking her hand in his and placing a kiss on it, "you have grown up to quite a woman."  
"And _I_ am the one flirting," Joseph grumbled, and Ari punched him lightly in the arm to shut him up.

There so many old faces in the restaurant, and Ari could not quite believe he was there. The raucous laughter bounced off the high ceilings of the modern looking space, and the voices to match the faces joined in the cacophony of sound.

Ari turned back to Tali on the other side of the table, sitting next to Joseph, who apparently had a death wish. There would be no other reason why he would still be flirting with his little sister so brashly, despite Ari's previous warning. Ari was far from oblivious to the male attention that both of his sisters attracted. When they were out in public together, it was even worse, with their smiles and laughter getting them long looks from all the men in a five mile radius. And the occasional woman. Yet Ari hated it, wanting to keep his siblings safe and sound forever. But alas, his sisters were going to get themselves romantically involved, no matter how many men he stared down. Hell, Ziva was getting married soon! And there was all that talk about Tali moving in with that boyfriend for hers… Call him old fashioned, but he wasn't pleased with the idea. This was his sister!

Ari was pulled back into the conversation as he heard some familiar names being mentions, gossip about who they were dating, and what they were doing. This was the reason he was there. To reconnect with people. To make up for lost time. To find that the place he knew was still there.

oooOOOooo

Malachi sat outside the food court, playing with his phone and trying to look busy. He was early. He just hadn't been able to wait any longer to meet with Ziva. She was back! All those years ago, when she had vanished out of his life, he had never thought he would see her again. He had thought that she had been killed in Somalia, or even worse. But then there was rumour that she and her family had fled to the USA, and his contacts had informed him that she was alive and well. And as the years had gone by, the prospect of calling her, or walking back into her life became even more distant, until the mere notion felt like a dream, or a dream of a dream. Then she came and walked back into his life. With a fiancé?! It was a strange day. There had always been something between them, an underlying love that was not quite that of a brother and sister. But they were young, and there were far too many factors that were acting against them, and it appeared that their time had passed…

Just as his thoughts wondered to couple, they appeared, Ziva with her hair pushed off her face with a large pair of sunglasses, and looking as radiant and happy as could be. As the pair moved closer, Malachi stood up, always the gentleman, to greet them.

"Ziva, Anthony," Malachi greeted them.

"Tony. Only my uncle calls me Anthony, and he scares me," Tony said, and Ziva rolled her eyes at his childish ways.

Sitting down, the three of them ordered drinks, and fell into a strange mash of conversation, punctuated by awkward silences and stupid grins from Tony.

"So, what did you end up doing with your life?" Ziva asked, genuinely curious about what had become of her oldest friend.

"I joined Mossad after I graduated. I did not really have anything else to do…" Malachi said, not wanting to admit that as a young man, the easy option had been to join Mossad. His father wanted him to, his mother wanted him to. The only person who had no strong desire for him to go into the family business was him.

"And you did not?" Malachi said.

"Yes. In the US, there is less of a demand for the young people to dedicate their lives," Ziva said.

"So what did you dedicate _your _life to?" Malachi asked.

"I run a dance studio."

Malachi took a few moments just staring at her, a look of disbelief plastered on his face, as if someone had told him that they had killed his cat. Of ever worse, eaten the last of the _good_ Celebration chocolates (who even ate the Snickers?).

"Dance?" Malachi repeated, just to clarify. He shook his head in disbelief, but went along with it, "and where do you come in? Let me guess, you're a pupil of hers?" he said, turning to Tony.

"Yes. Because when you see me, you think dancer," Tony said deadpan, and Malachi grinned at this man's sense in humour. The use of humour to diffuse tension was so effective, and so _American. _

"Hey, you are not that bad!" Ziva protested. And then her face moulded into something more evil, and her grin was so sinister, "Remember that time with the tights?"

"I thought we were never going to mention that ever again! We had a deal!" Tony said, and Malachi laughed at how domesticated the two of them sounded.

"So when is the wedding?"

"We don't know," Tony said, "never really set a date."  
"What about that autumn wedding?" Malachi said to Ziva, and her eyebrows shot up.

"You remembered?" Ziva said. When they were younger, they had shared some of their deepest secrets. Where most children admitted to killing the hamster, or flushing their siblings' heads down the toilet, Ziva had quietly admitted one night that when she was older, she was going to meet her very own prince charming, and marry him in an autumn wedding. But apparently Ziva had already found her prince charming. Malachi felt so bittersweet when hearing this in his mind. When he had caught a glimpse of Ziva, all grown up and as beautiful as he had always imagined her, he had for a fleeting moment fantasized about picking off where they had left off. But looking at the way Tony touched Ziva gently on the shoulder, as she spoke about Tali and Ari (he had never been friends with that man. And it wasn't because he didn't like Ari; it was just the fact that Ari scared the crap out of him…), Malachi could see that his dreams were not going to turn into a reality any time soon.

Hours later, Ziva pulled Malachi into a hug as they were leaving the restaurant and going their separate ways. They had already exchanged numbers and addresses. As Malachi felt her small frame in his arms (she had always been the tall one. And yet from their years apart, the roles had been reversed, and he was the one looking down at her), he smiled. He may have lost the hope that they could have something. But he had gained her. He felt her whisper words in his ear as they were about to break apart.

"Don't be a stranger," she said, and as they drew away, Malachi's smile gave her all the assurance he needed. And as she walked away, she turned back, and Malachi swore he heard the sound of that smile he had missed for all those years…

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**_woo! Am I the only one who REALLY likes Malachi? :) please leave reviews! remember, more reviews, and I'll update again this week! _**


	30. Chapter 30

**_Hello people!_**

**_GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! OVER 300 REVIEWS! :D :D :D _**

**_you people are awesome. SERIOUSLY! THANK YOU!_**

**_OK, I'm sorry that I didn't upload yesterday, even though I said I would, but it was crazy busy. but it's here now..? XD  
this chapter is dedicated to SilverStella, who understood the Dr Who reference! :D  
_**

**_DISCLAIMER: characters not mine_**

* * *

Chapter 30

Ziva stared at her reflection in the mirror staring right back at her, as if she did not recognising who she was. There was nothing different about her outwards appearance; she was dressed a little more darkly in her reserved black clothing, with her hair straightened so it sat neatly across her shoulders. No, it wasn't her appearance that made her unrecognisable. It was the expression she had on her face.

She stared blankly back at her reflection, for once not categorising what she liked and disliked about her face. Staring right into her dark brown eyes, she searched for an answer in her own reflection. The question was simple. What should she feel? The answer was not so simple.

The day had been inevitable for quite some time, and she should have known that her trip to Israel would most certainly contain this ritual, no matter how long she surrounded herself with loving, caring relatives who welcomed her back with open arms. And yet as the day came, she was almost surprised at its presence. But the event, no matter how uninvited was still a stark reality, and would be for the next twenty-four hours.

Ziva closed her eyes, taking the moment to collect her thoughts and put them in something that resembled order. Tony would be wondering where she had got to, there was only so long a normal person could spend in the toilet without it being strange. When she opened her eyes, motives were not clear. Sighing she turned her back on the bathroom mirror, and unlocked the door. It was time to meet the inevitable.

Tali wasn't stupid. Everyone would tell her that, her teachers, her peers. And she never liked to acknowledge it, thinking that even the mere self-congratulation would lead to arrogance and conceit. No, she was content in deceiving herself that she was mediocre at best. But her intelligence no matter how doubtful was not questioning herself for once. For she was absolutely certain that her big sister was hiding in that bathroom.

Tali was sitting perfectly still on the sofa in the living room, having got changed quickly and efficiently. Out of all the siblings. She was the one least effected by the day. She could not pretend that she had more that distant memories of her father, and even those she had come to question as the time had passed. Had the man who had tucked her in at night been the same one who had sent was siblings off to fight in wars that were far beyond their years? How could the monster he was be so kind and affectionate in her memories? And now, she was not able to meet him, so her adult mind could match the man of her memories and the reality. The loss was of a significance to her. But as her thoughts returned to her sister and brother, she thought that she was the once who had got off lightly in this whole scenario…

Ari paced his room like the cages lion that his name suggested he was. His formal trousers were pulled onto his frame, and his shirt was hastily pulled on. But his tie hung loosely around his neck, the hangman's noose to his impending death. Suddenly he rounded and struck the wall with his closed fist. There was a moment when the world went black and white, as the pain that shot through his hand was the only thing that he felt. There was the refuge that he so desperately sought, the one that meant that the only thing he had to focus on was the pain. The thoughts that raged in his mind were quietened, and there was silence. But as the throbbing subsided, the feeling didn't last forever, and all he was left with was a dull ache in his knuckles. The anger that had possessed him to strike the wall was still there. Why should he honour the death of a man who had caused him such pain for so long? Why should he not curse the man from there to kingdom come? It was his fault that Ziva had nightmares, that Tali never had a father. And yet just because he was dead, Ari was expected to forget all that, and even _respect _the man? He looked at the dent in the wall that he created, suddenly feeling guilty. His Aunt was going to kill him when she saw what he had done. But that didn't matter at that moment.

He wished that he could talk to someone. But what kind of older brother would he be if he burdened his sisters further. His mother was just about holding it together, pretending that she was not going to miss the man who she had once loved. Love was a bitter friend, one that bestowed kindness onto some, and then refused to let go when the person turned out to be a monster. Ari understood what his mother was going through. But it was different for her. She had married the man, she had made children with the man. And now the man was dead. Ari sighed. He could not talk to his mother about it. She had enough troubles of her own not to worry about her temperamental son.

Reaching for his phone, Ari found himself flicking through his phonebook, searching for someone to call. He had never been one to reach for others in a time of need, but today it felt like it was what he needed. He did not enjoy showing weakness, but then he remembered who had taught him all about weakness. And the very man causing this weakness in character was the one who taught him about it in the first place. Ari almost laughed at the irony of the situation. Karma was a bitch.

Hitting call, he put the phone up to his ear before he could change his mind. It was not logical to shut everyone out. It was not human, no matter what his father said to him. And he was making the first move. He pressed the button, and called the only person he could think of who would understand him.

"Hello?"

"I do not want to go," Ari said, not registering the groggy voice on the other end of the phone, and the confusion that tinged their words until his own had left his mouth.

"Ari, is that you?" the voice at the other end queried.

"Yes," Ari said, trying to figure out why it wasn't obvious.

"Ari, it's 0200," the voice at the other end of the phone moaned, and then he remembered. Time differences between Israel and America. Dammit.

"Sorry I disturbed you so early in the morning. I will let you get back to sleep," Ari said.

"No, no, you've woken me up anyway. Where don't you want to go?"

Ari could hear the shuffling of bed sheets that signalled the voice sitting up in bed.

"It is my father's funeral today. I do not want to go," Ari said.

"Why not?"

"Why should I?" Ari said defensively.

"Is that your only reason?"

Ari had to think about his answer before it came out of his mouth. But before he could say it, he was beaten to it.

"Go. You will regret not going."

Ari smiled. She knew him too well.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now go, I'm going back to sleep."  
"Good night, Caitlin."  
"Good bye, Ari."

Smiling, Ari hung up the phone. Well that was one problem averted.

oooOOooo

The funeral was surprisingly simple for such a complex man. Naturally, being the director of Mossad meant that there were more international delegates present than in a bad joke. But there were also a large gathering of the David, from cousins, siblings, and with Tali, Ari and Ziva sitting in the front row, children. The synagogue was plainly decorated, with flowers or adornments, things that were deemed unnecessary and frivolous. But as the David's stood, and before the service began there was a silence. And it was in this silence that K'riah was performed.

Ziva had been to enough funerals in her time to know the tradition well. There had been fallen comrade, family members who dies for the cause. And even when she had not been close enough to the deceased to practise K'riah herself, she always watched the family in awe as they ripped that black ribbon, pinned to the left of their clothing. The symbolism was not lost on her, she had attended enough Shabbat services to know that origins of such a tradition. And as she grew older she came to understand the significance of tearing clothing in despair. She knew the grief that came with the death of a loved one. And she understood how dark the mental place must be, that despair was almost overwhelming.

Although she had never predicted the amount of people who would take part in this practise. Her father had never been a "family man". And yet she was surrounded by men women and some smaller ones who stood with her, the sign of strength in grief. Before, she had felt alone, she had felt that no-one knew exactly what she was going through. That was still applicable. However now, as they recited the blessing in familiarly muttered voices, she felt something different. She may not be fully understood then, and never would. But there were people there who understood, who knew at least a little bit of what she was going through. And these people loved her.

"_**Blessed are You, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the Universe, the True Judge."**_

The Hebrew words rung out around the hollow dark space. The words that had previously held nothing but familiar dread now were viewed in different light. They spoke to her, telling her that there was something out there, something that was beyond anything that she would ever fully understand. And instead of scaring her, it gave her hope. And for the first time that day, she smiled.

Outside, the hot sun beat down on them, and as the plain wooden coffin was lowered into the ground, Ziva's hand found Tony's, and he squeezed her digits gently. Ziva closed her eyes, thankful for the silence support that Tony had offered. For these past few days, Tony had been perfect. He had not questioned her about Malachi, knowing that her mind was going to be occupied with the thoughts of her father's impending burial. Throughout the reading of the Psalms and eulogy, he had been respectful and looked suitably downcast, an impressive feat seeing as based on Tony's perception of Eli, Tony would not mind his death.

As the coffin was lowered into the ground, the family began _Chesed Shel Emet, _Ziva began to feel a sense of unease cloak her like a sheet of darkness. This was supposed to be the ultimate act of love and kindness. Ziva could think of the emotional turmoil that would be going through her brother's mind. He, like her, would feel something wrong about participating in physically burying their father along with family and friends, as the tradition dictated. With the whole thing being an unselfish act of love and kindness, Ziva could never honestly say that she could participate. But just as the thoughts entered her mind, the line that was separating her and the casket was getting ever shorter, and she was getting ever closer. And as she reached the side of the grave, she felt her body going through the motions that those had done before her. And as she felt the dirt hitting the casket, she felt the first twinge of sorrow hit her. Her father was in that coffin. He was dead. He may have been a monster, but he had tried to amend their relationship. He was trying to be the father he never was, and she had shot him down. Maybe if she had given him the chance, maybe if she had allowed him the right to speech, they could have at least left each other in good terms. But she hadn't and all she had to prove that was a dull sad ache.

As she moved down the _Shura_, she felt comforting words being showered down on her from the double line facing each other. And it was there, for the first time that she allowed herself to mourn the man who she used to call Aba.

oooOOOooo

_The funeral of Eli David was held today. Friends and family gathered in The Belz Great Synagogue to pay tribute to the director of Mossad, including delegates from America, Britain and Ethiopia. The director of NCIS made a statement earlier today, speaking of his condolences towards the family, and the loss of a great leader. _

The slightly muted television was what captured Kate's attention, as she rubbed her eyes. She may have been happy to help Ari at the time, but now six hours later and still as tired, she was not so amiable. Taking a sip of her coffee cup, she addressed McGee about the contents of the news report.

"He did?" Kate said, and McGee looked up from his computer screen confused.

"Director Vance. He made a statement about Director David's death?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. Vance and Director David did have a strangely close relationship despite their obvious differences," McGee replied.

"What obvious differences?" Kate said. In her mind, the two directors were fairly similar, both were influential and took no nonsense.

"Vance has a wife, kids. Director David has a clan as estranged offspring," McGee pointed out. Kate tilted her head in agreement.

"It's like we're in a _really_ good scripted television show…" Kate mused, and McGee rolled his eyes. Yeah, as if.

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**_Again, I want to thank you guys so much for the reviews. You people have given me this confidence in my writing that I could have never imagined. You are awesome people! :D_**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

As Ziva slammed her car door shut on the unseasonably warm spring day, all she could think was that she was home. The dance studio's looming white washed presence stood before her, backed by the white stretched out clouds and pale blue sky. Despite the suffocating noises of traffic and stained pavements, after a week in Israel she felt like she didn't mind the change. No matter how good it had been to reconnect with people from the past, it was nothing in comparison to the euphoria she got when seeing her studio again. This was the place that she had built up from the bottom up, the place that she was proud to say belonged to her, and only her, due to her own determination and hard work. Yes, she was definitely home.

"Get over it already," Tali said sensing Ziva's nostalgia, slamming her door behind her, and Ziva rolled her eyes at her younger sister. They had arrived home from Israel the night before with darker skin and white smiles. It had been too late, and what with the eight hour time difference, Ziva had been unable to check if her studio was still standing. It had been the first time since setting the place up that Ziva had left it unattended, with at least one of the David's there to supervise at all times. It had not been difficult, whenever they chose to take a few days off in the summer, there were few people in the studio to begin with, and most of them didn't mind if Ziva closed the studio for a day of two. But with all three of the David's taking off at such short notice, Ziva would have been a nervous wreck, had all the assistant coaches not been there. They like Ziva had so much invested in the place, and Ziva knew that all they wanted was to help these young dancers, and do what they loved. Ziva knew that they all had the best of intentions, and they made parting with the studio temporarily easier. They had been a life saver for Ziva, managing to deal with the fact that their owner had needed to up and leave at such short notice. She had been receiving regular texts from them, about how the girls had been doing in competitions. Some of her older students who had her number had been texting her with how their auditions had been going, and if they had heard anything from them. But there was nothing compared to seeing the looks on the students' faces when they came out of that door, or hugging them when things had not gone just as planned.

Pushing open the doors of the studio, Ziva smiled at the girl at the front desk. She was one of her pupil's mother, who was basically a glorified paper pusher, and scheduler. But the mother seemed content with helping out, and Ziva was not oblivious to the fact that she had only taken the job to get on her good side. Some of these mums were crazy, doing anything they could to have their daughters progressing in the Broadway direction. Ziva never really enjoyed the politics of the mums, but this mother was not one of the bad ones. There had been better ones, yes. There had been worse.

"Ziva! You're back," the woman greeted her, and Ziva smiled and greeted her back. Even the mother's overly sugary introduction wasn't enough to dampen her mood. As they exchanged pleasantries, Ziva saw Tali move into one of the other studios, probably to see her own class and ask them how they survived without her. Laughing, Ziva moved to studio C to greet her own kids.

First thing on a Saturday morning only ever equated to one thing in studio C. And that was the little ones.

As she pushed open the door, she caught sight of all the kids in the long, full length mirrors that lined one wall of the dance studio. They were all on the bar, all faced one way with their feet pointed neatly in opposite directions. They were all clearly in that stage where boredom was setting in, and the kids looked as if they were ready for a break. And a break was what they got when Ziva walked in.

"Miss Ziva!"

Joyful cries went up all over the room, as the militant row broke formation in favour of greeting their returning leader. Ziva crouched down just in time, as countless little bodies found themselves in her arms. And now she was back. It wasn't because of the mothers that she enjoyed her work. It wasn't the reputation and the publicity she liked. It was the kids.

Pressing her head into the mass of squirming bodies, Ziva tried to greet them all in turn, trying to talk to them each so they all felt special. Which was somewhat difficult when every kid was trying to tell her something different. Nodding and smiling, Ziva tried to follow the excited chatter and animated hand gestures, as they all tried to relay what had happened in the past week from each of their unique points of view. Ziva was content listening to their noisy crowd until she heard a louder voice over the insistent rabble.

"I _was_ trying to teach a class."  
Ziva looked up to see Marcus' fake annoyed face looking sternly at her.

"Well I think your class is due for a break, am I right?" she directed the second half of the statement at the children in her arms, who all turned to nod earnestly at him. With Ziva down there, surrounded my grinning infants and smiling childishly herself, how was anyone with a heart supposed to resist?

"Five minutes," Marcus said, and as soon as the words had left his mouth, the kids dispersed to far corners of the room. As they left her arms, Ziva stood up, and Marcus closed the distance between the two of them, pulling her into a hug. Ziva grinned into his shoulder, just revelling in the feeling of being hugged by a good friend.

"How have things been?" Ziva said, still not letting go of him.

"Great. You should go away more often," Marcus shot back, and Ziva drew back and punched him in the shoulder.

"Dude?" Marcus said, pretending to be wounded by the blow. Ziva heard a few distinct giggles, and she turned around to see some of the girls watching and laughing at his misfortunes.

"So you think this is funny, huh?" Marcus said, turning to the girl, which only caused them to giggle even more.

Deciding that Marcus had it all under control, Ziva moved to leave the room, closing the door behind her. She moved to the next door of studio D, but she couldn't remember what lesson was going on behind the door. Ziva figured that as the owner of the studio, she had the right to interrupt whatever class was going on, and she pushed open the door. She was not, however, expecting to see what lay in front of her. And she most definitely didn't want to walk in on what she did.

Tali stood there, almost completely intertwined with one of the assistant coaches. Ziva couldn't quite make out who he was, but Tali clearly seemed to know who he was, what with the way she was shoving her tongue down his throat… Ziva had half the mind to go over there and punch him, as she saw the way that the man's hands began to wonder from Tali's waist, moving up and down her sides. Tali on the other hand clearly didn't seem to mind, as she made little noises that Ziva had _never _expected to hear coming from her little sister.

It was at that moment that the door slammed shut behind Ziva, and the pair whipped around to see who had caught them. And it was in that moment that Ziva saw the face of the man her sister was devouring. The moment she saw, and recognised him.

"Finn?!"

When Tali had told Ziva that she wanted to move in with Finn, Ziva had assumed that the man was some burnout art freak, the kind that belonged in a record store, or on Tali's track record. Her thoughts did not jump to the man in front of her. Finn was one of the assistant coaches, and was definitely the youngest employee that Ziva had taken on. But the man had started on Broadway at the age of fifteen, staring in an all singing, all dancing comedy where he played the starring role. The man had been on and off Broadway ever since, but the moment he applied for the job at the studio, Ziva could not turn him down, despite his tender age of twenty six. But there was something else wrong about the fact he was clearly in some kind of relationship with her sister (he was sucking her sister's face off. Who does that?!)

"I thought you were gay?"

OK, maybe she hadn't said that with as much tact and sensitivity as she should have. And maybe she shouldn't have judged him so harshly. But he was tall, good looking, a dancer, and she had never once seen him date for the whole two years that he had been at the studio. So the conclusion that she had perhaps to prematurely drawn was that he was into guys. That man could have pretty much any of the girls he wanted. But he didn't.

There was an awkwardly drawn out silence, one that Ziva did not wish to fill out of the fear that she would put her foot in her mouth. Again. (and she thought that Tony was inappropriate. Clearly spending a week with him was not healthy for her tact…).

"Well," Finn said after a while, "I am not."

Silence descended on the room once again. Ziva rocked back on her heels nervously, trying (and failing) to have the ground swallow her up.

The silence continued.

"So," Ziva said, deciding that she now trusted herself to say something without putting her foot back into her mouth, "Tali was going to move in with _you_?"

Finn looked warily at Tali, trying to work out whether Ziva was joking or not. He may have been a Broadway veteran, but Ziva was his employer. And he, like any other man with sense, was afraid of Ziva.

"I was going to tell you," Tali said with a nervous grin on her face. Finn squeezed her hand in his to reassure her. He was not mad. But judging by the look he was giving Ziva, he thought she was.

Again an awkward silence cloaked the room, and Tali tried to think figure out what to say to dissipate the awkwardness that had fallen. But this was not the way she planned in having Ziva meet her boyfriend. Not that she had to meet him. Because Ziva was the one who hired him. Wow this was awkward. She cursed the writers of her story called life that put her through such an awkward situation...

Ziva watched Tali wipe her mouth with the back of her hand, as if removing the evidence of the crime would make it go away (it didn't.). Finn had this small sheepish grin on his face, looking as if he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He was a good kid, the kind of quiet that balanced out Tali's enthusiasm nicely. Judging by the way Tali was still curled so comfortably against him, she liked him, and judging by his expression, he was pretty smitten with her. They were a cute couple. And at least with having him so close to her and the studio, she could make his life a living hell if he hurt Tali. But he was a smart kid. And hopefully he would not do anything stupid; good dance teachers were too hard to find.

"Well, I'm just going to…" Ziva said, motioning at the door. As fun as it was, the awkwardness was getting pretty stifling.

"Wait Ziva," Tali said, "we have something to tell you."

As soon as Ziva heard those few words, her mind jumped to the worst case scenario. And unfortunately, her mind was still directly connected to her mouth.

"You're pregnant!?"

"No!" Tali said horrified, and Finn looked like if offered a gun, he would shoot himself.

"Engaged?" Ziva tried again.

"No."

"An alien?"

"No. Can I speak now?" Tali said, cutting off Ziva's guesses (an alien… really? She had been spending too much time around Tony and his movie collection…).

"You know that agent that is coming from Los Angeles on Friday?" Tali started. When Ziva nodded, she continued, "I am going to audition with the other girls."

"But the girls auditioning are much younger than you," Ziva said. The company were only sending the girls in their late teens to the auditions. Tali was twenty-four.

"Yes. But I look the part," Tali argued.  
"What exactly is the part?"

"A singing, dancing part in a comedy about high school girls," Tali said.

Ziva knew that Tali had always wanted to sing. Out of both of the sisters, there was no doubt in Ziva's mind that Tali was better. But Tali had seemed to resign herself to failure, and Ziva had not questioned her about it. The girl was her own person, and had the right to choose what she was going to do with her life. But that didn't stop Ziva from enjoying the sound of Tali's voice as if floated from the shower as she sang.

"Are you sure about this?" Ziva said softly. Tali smiled, and looked up at Finn, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Tali said. Ziva titled her head to one side, thinking the move through.

"In that case," Ziva said, "Why are you here and not in voice lessons."

Tali grinned at Ziva, and tugged at Finn's arm, dragging him in search of these aforementioned lessons. They were almost out of the door when Ziva spoke again.

"Oh, and Finn."

Tali and Fin turned around, and Ziva continued.

"Hurt her, and you die."

Finn shot a lazy salute in her direction, and Ziva grinned. Maybe the two of them weren't such a bad idea after all…

* * *

**_I thought I would save you from a long author's note at the beginning (wait, hold on. That makes me an author!? that is strange...) This chapter was inspired by an anonymous review that went along the lines of "it's time to stop with the whole funeral stuff". Hence the reason for moving on. sort of. I am glad you all love the Kate/Ari thing, and any Kibbs fans out there, please don't hate me! :P_**

**_anyways, please review! I love hearing what every single one of you think of it, what you like, and what you don't like! :)_**


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Gibbs walked into the bullpen at six am, coffee in one hand, bag in the other. Slinging his bag onto his desk he nodded in the direction of a "morning, boss". He sat down at his desk and booted up his computer. Looking around at the rest of his team, he documented who was there before him and who was late. Glancing at his clock, he confirmed his suspicions. DiNozzo was late for the second time that week. Which wouldn't have been that big a deal. But it was only Tuesday. Gibbs was about to question his two remaining agents when he heard the elevator. He didn't have to look up when he spoke, DiNozzo's self-confidence was as pungent as his third wife' perfume.

"DiNozzo, you're late. Again."

"Sorry boss, won't happen again. But look what I found down in the lobby," he said. Gibbs had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. This man was the most irritating, childish man he had ever had the misfortune of meeting. He was also one of the best investigators, and a more loyal companion that most of his ex-wives had been. DiNozzo had a charm that made Gibbs want to kill him and laugh at him at the same time. It was infuriating.

He looked up and saw DiNozzo in his usual sharp suit, and wide grin that made him look like a small child who had managed to wrap the entire house in toilet roll. He had a woman with him. A woman who he had only vaguely remembered seeing before. Didn't she belong in legal or somewhere where suits were as essential as the air they breathed?

"Boss," DiNozzo spoke again "this is our new recruit, Nikki Jardine."

There was an awkward pause, where Gibbs glared at Tony, trying to decide whether this was another one of DiNozzo's "funny" practical jokes. Ever since Tony had met Ziva, he seemed to be even more painfully chipper. And if this was his idea of amusing, he was going to have to think again.

"Director Vance assigned me to your team?" Nikki said nervously after the uncomfortable silence became too much to bear, her statement sounding more like a question than an explanation "said something about needing help?"

Both Kate and McGee looked up in surprise. They hadn't had a new recruit for years. Some say it was because the higher powers didn't want Gibbs scaring them off before they had even started. Others said that it was because Gibbs was a vampire in disguise who only fed off new recruits. But the rumours said a lot. They said that Gibbs used his special powers to raise Abby from the dead when she was a little girl, and that was who she was still so childish and gothic. Which was totally not true. Because come on, if you had been raised from the dead, why would you sleep in a coffin at night?

Gibbs took one look at the woman and without a word walked over to the elevator and pressed the up button. And he disappeared into the metal box.

There was a silence in the bullpen as Jardine tried to understand what had just happened. DiNozzo had moved to sit at his own desk and spoke.

"Well that went well." Jardine gave him a look.

"No I am being serious!"

"For once he is right. I mean, you are still intact, psychologically and physically," Kate said, completely serious expression on her face, as she leaned over to examine their new recruit. Jardine shrank back, as if afraid of the other woman's wrath. Kate was something of a legend, with a reputation that spanned several agencies. The woman was right to be afraid of her. But despite this fearless reputation, Tony was unable to see her as more than the woman he verbally sparred with on a regular basis. To see a woman so afraid of Kate was more than a little humorous. There were people in the agency to be feared. However, Kate was not one of them. Gibbs on the other hand…

Gibbs stood in the elevator rocking on the balls of his feet. He was angry. His team had the best crime closure rate in the entire building. And he liked his family the way it was. He didn't need some green probie who fancied joining the big leagues to mess with the careful balance that had been struck up between the group. And he was not going to let some kid who was likely going to get in the way of doing what was important. Bringing the wrong to justice. There was nothing more or less to the job, in his mind the black and white never met. It may not have always matched with what the higher ups deemed to be acceptable, but he wasn't there do play games. He was there to win. Win the fight against fear and terror. One criminal at a time.

As soon as the door slid open he stormed out of his metal confines. The director's assistant greeted him from her desk.

"Go right on in, he's expecting you." Gibbs nodded in her direction and walked straight in, not knocking. The director looked up from his desk.

"Come right in, Gibbs,"

"Please, take a seat." Gibbs refused and placed his palms on the desk in front of him. After a drawn out silence with Gibbs just staring at him, he spoke.

"So you found your new team member," the rhetorical question didn't seem to inspire any words in Gibbs, as in his usual manner he stood in silence, waiting for Vance to explain himself.

"The kid is good. And need I remind you that as your superior I can add or take away whoever I damn well like from your team," his voice remained perfectly neutral, but Gibbs could see the underlying threat. He stood up and made to leave when he spoke again.

"She can help you with that new case of yours."

"New ca-" he was cut off by the buzz of his phone.

"Gibbs"

"Hey boss, got a case."

"I'll be right down," he turned and saw a smug smile on the director's face. Shooting him a glare, Gibbs was out the door quicker than he could say "you're fired".

oooOOOooo

The arrival at the crime scene was the usual circus that the ME's van and entourage of cars made it look like. Ducking the tape and flashing some ID DiNozzo and Gibbs entered the scene. As they snapped on latex gloves, they made their way into the living room, the scene of the crime. In true investigative fashion, Gibbs stood and began to assess the scene in front of him. The walls were splattered in a gruesome painting of red, the shade unique to the colour of pure oxygenated blood form the carotid artery. In the centre of the room lay the body of a Lance Corporal, his body curled into a position that was never normal, but so contorted that it would never be healthy. Gibbs sighed. Just another day at the office.

"Kate, photos, McGee, bag and tag, DiNozzo, sketches. I'll interview witnesses." He turned to Jardine as he walked out of the room.

"You coming?" he turned back and heard Jardine run to catch up with him. He supressed the smile that threatened to overcome his own face. If he was going to have this new found attachment, he may as well have a little fun with it. And besides, the woman may turn out to be a good agent after all…

"Gibbs!" Kate called when Gibbs was almost out of the room.

"What?" Gibbs turned and yelled.

"I thought you should know…" she started.

"The point, Kate."

"The witness. It's the deceased 6 year old daughter."

Gibbs closed his eyes. The day just got a hell of a lot more complicated.

Gibbs entered the little girl's bedroom. He was immediately hit by how _girly_ it was. It was almost as overpowering as the as the stench of blood had hit him on the crime scene downstairs. The walls were a vibrant pink with stars stencilled onto the walls. It reminded him too much of another little girl's room. A little girl from another life. His little girl.

_June 1984_

"_Come on Shan, don't be like that!"_

"_What do you mean, "like that"? Do you want our daughter to grow up thinking that she needs a man to rescue her from the castle? Shouldn't we be teaching her that she can do anything herself, even rescuing herself from castles?"_

_A heavily pregnant Shannon stood opposite a younger, more brown haired Gibbs. But at this rate, Gibbs was not going to have much brown hair left. _

"_That has nothing to do with painting her room pink!"_

"_It has everything to do with painting her room pink."_

_Gibbs had taken the morning off, deciding to surprise his heavily pregnant wife with a newly painted nursery. Unfortunately, he did not predict the effect that this tub of pink paint would have on his hormonal partner. _

"_I can't believe you didn't even ask me!" Shannon fumed, popping herself down on the sofa, after her aching muscles decided her weight was too much to bare. Almost unconsciously, Gibbs sat himself next to her, pulling her feet into his lap so that he could massage her swollen feet. This movement seemed to stem the tide of bitter thoughts, as Shannon groaned, closing her eyes. He had always known where her weak spots were. _

"_I'm being unreasonable, aren't I?" she whined. _

"_Yup," Gibbs replied, a cheeky grin painted on his face. Shannon leaned over and pushed him in the shoulder. Gibbs retaliated by pressing that spot on the sole of her foot, the one that always made her body turn to jelly. Gosh, this man was good. _

"_So…" Shannon said, "what else do you have in mind for the nursery?"_

"_Well, I was thinking about painting a knight in shining armour on her wall…"_

_Shannon punched Gibbs in the arm again for that one. This man was going to be the death of her…_

Present day

The identical pink walls surrounding him were a stark contrast to the bloody crime scene beneath them. This little girl did not belong in Gibbs's world, and yet she had been forcefully and brutally dragged into it. Just like another little girl he had once known…

The girl was playing with the doll's house sitting crossed legged on the carpet with figurines scattered all around her. Gibbs sat down on the floor with the girl his knees cracking and protesting against the sudden change in position. The kid looked up, questions and shining in her eyes like unshed tears.

"Hey there," Gibbs said softly, his voice light and soothing, as if talking to an animal that could bolt at any second. Jardine looked in surprised. Who would have known that that voice that had been barking orders seconds before could turn into the soothing tone he was using on the kid. If the law enforcement thing didn't work out, Jardine was pretty certain that Gibbs could go into the acting business…

The girl looked up, but otherwise didn't respond. She then looked in the opposite corner. Gibbs followed her gaze to where a uniform was sitting, probably designated to watch their one and only witness to the crime. He was currently awkwardly perched on a small flower chair. Gibbs nodded at him and he understood, standing up and leaving the room. Once the door was closed behind him Gibbs started talking again.

"What's your name?"

"Ashley." It was a start.

The girl went back to playing with her dolls. Gibbs was about the speak again when Ashley beat him to it.

"I'm not stupid. I know why you're here. You want to know what happened," the little girl said boldly. Gibbs smiled at her courage, and not to mention her exceptional articulation for someone that age. The kid was like Kelly, as sharp as a knife, wielding words like weapons. Weapons that were only ever used to twist their fathers around their fingers…

"So what did happen?" Gibbs signalled at Jardine that she should start making notes. There was a fumbling as Jardine searched frantically for something to write on. Gibbs rolled him eyes, pulling out a notepad from his own pocket and handing it to her. And he had thought that all the kids in legal were notorious for writing everything down…

"Some people…" he said to the girl, and she laughed with that high pitch noise that was only associated with unadulterated happiness. The happiness that only a child could possess.

"I was watching television when there was a knock at the door," she started.

"Do you remember what you were watching?"

Ashley screwed up her face as she tried to remember.

"Spongebob," she said, looking pleased with herself that she had remembered. The smile she got from Gibbs was the only reward she needed for that moment.

"Go on," Gibbs coaxed.

" Daddy went to get it and then he slammed the door and told me to run and hide. So I ran and I could hear a crack," Ashley's voice was become slowly more breathless, becoming more panicked as the moments progressed, "And the door broke, and… and I heard yelling… and they hurt daddy!" Ashley was almost in tears.

"Where's daddy? I want my daddy!" Ashley said the tears falling. She let out a sob and Gibbs looked at her in alarm. It had been a long time since he had needed to deal with a crying child.

_August 1984_

_Shannon woke late at night, the bleary clouding still covering her eyes as she fought against the tide of sleep. There had been something that had pulled her out of her peaceful slumber. And dammit, she was not happy about it. _

_Closing her eyes once again, she tried to pinpoint exactly what had interrupted her at such an inconsiderate hour. And then she heard it. The cries. More specifically, the cries coming from the room where her baby daughter was supposed to be sleeping. _

_Rolling over, she slapped her hand against the half of the bed where her husband slept, already formulating a plan to bribe him into dealing with the child while she attempted to catch some more sleep. However, when her arm hit the warmed mattress, her eyes shot open, and to her dismay she found her husband had gone to see his daughter. And yet crying could still be heard from the room. _

_Flinging back her side of the duvet, she stumbled out of the room, and in the vague direction of where she saw in her mind was the nursery. The door was mercifully open, (if it had not have been, she would have walked straight into it) and she saw an almost comical sight. _

_Leroy Jethro Gibbs stood there in his boxers, holding their baby daughter as if she was an explosive made of glass. As Kelly continued to bawl, Jethro was jiggling about it what he probably perceived to be a comforting manner. But apparently Kelly was getting sea sick. _

"_What do I do?!" Jethro said, raising his voice to try and be heard over the siren currently being emitted by their darling daughter. Shannon rolled her eyes. For a badass marine, he looked genuinely terrified. But she knew that it was not fear of her that was fuelling his terror. It was the fear that he was going to do something wrong and hurt the one he loved so much. So Shannon thought she would take pity on his kind and weary heart. _

"_Come on, give her here…" _

Present day

Gibbs sat there, trying to keep the memories as he rocked the child back and forth. This girl was not Kelly. But she was going to go through a painful and harsh period in her life. Speaking into the top of her head, Gibbs tried to offer some comfort to keep her tears at bay.

"It's going to be OK," she whispered. Gibbs closed his eyes. He hated lying to children.

* * *

**_Hello kind people of the fanfiction world! _**

**_apologies for the late update, but I wanted to make this one a long one. This chapter was dedicated to Elleraymond, Crazy-random-reader of hogwart (and to answer your question I HAVEN'T SEEN SEEK YET! :'( is it good?) , yandoonkeanjaani and never-give-up-hope2_**

**_please leave a review on your way out, they are make me update more quickly!_**

**_daniela _**


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Jardine sensed the shift in the atmosphere, and as the two of them left the little girl's room, she couldn't help but notice something changing about Gibbs. There was something about a case involving kids that was affecting him, more so than a normal person. Something was different, and she sensed that there was a story there…

"So what happens to her now?" Jardine asked as they walked down the stairs to the crime scene below.

"We find if she has any other family," Gibbs said briskly, walking into the room.

"Boss, the wife is visiting family in Boston. She's flying back and should be back early tomorrow," Kate said. Gibbs looked her way to show he heard and then knelt down next to the body.

"Cause of death, Duck?"  
"At first glance, knife would that severed the trachea and carotid artery."

"Explains all the blood…" Gibbs had been working enough crime scenes to know that a slash to the neck caused major bleeding.

"We'll know more when we get him back to autopsy." Gibbs turned to the rest of her team.

"McGee, Kate, DiNozzo, finish processing the scene and ride back with Ducky."

"Gibbs."

He turned. It was Jardine. Again. This woman was really beginning to get on his nerves. Why couldn't he have got a normal shy quiet newbie who didn't talk so much?

"What about the kid?"

Gibbs thought through the possible options. They could hand the kid over to social services. But what if the killer came back to remove their key witness. Protective custody seemed like a good option. But they were NCIS, not babysitters. And there wasn't anyone on the team who would be equipped to look after a kid. It was between the guy who saw life as a party, the techie, the awkward-yet-beautiful ex-secret service. Or Gibbs. Gibbs sighed.

He whipped out his phone to make a call that was going to determine the outcome of the events, As much as Gibbs disliked the man, Vance was his superior. And if there was anyone they could unload their difficult decisions on, it was him.

Gibbs took a breath and dialled.

"Vance, we may have a problem…"

oooOOOooo

That was how Gibbs found himself in a car with Jardine and a 6 year old girl. Aware of the girl's previous breakdown Gibbs was trying to do as little as possible to startle her. And that involved travelling and a normal speed and obeying the high-way code. Which felt strange to someone who drove like him.

Vance had insisted that NCIS look after the child until the next morning. He had said that it was for protective purposes, but Gibbs was convinced it was because he did not like him. And he didn't like the paperwork that came with sending a child so social services.

They entered the bullpen and Gibbs dropped his bag off at his desk. It was only when he was behind the desk that he noticed that the kid was not following him. Turning around, he saw her looking around, with a look of pure, unadulterated awe painted on her face as she took in her new surroundings. To Gibbs, this place was his second home, the high ceiling where noises were magnified and the smells merged into one. That being, cheap food and even cheaper coffee. He forgot sometimes how the world looked to a child.

"Come on. Got somebody I want you to meet," Gibbs put out his hand and Ashley took it. No questions asked. That childhood innocence and naïve attitude, that everyone was a good person. It would be left untouched for years, until she found out the hard way that there was evil in this world.

"Errmm… boss, what about me?" Gibbs sighed, and the smile that may have made an appearance, had the sunlight not been so violently pulled out from underneath him. He turned to her and Jardine almost recoiled at the glare she received. She wasn't stupid. She could see the thoughts going through his head.

"Sit. Stay. The team will take it from there when they get back. " He motioned towards the desk next to her.

Gibbs had few options of where to take the girl. Autopsy was out of the question. Forensics would not be a good idea, goodness knows what Abby would expose her to down there. And he wasn't talking poisonous fumes. That only left one place and person. And he was not going be happy about it…

"You want me to do what!"

* * *

Palmer was not happy. He was freaking out at the prospect of spending the day with the child. He pushed his glasses further up his nose nervously. It was almost comical to watch the raging battle going through his mind, with part of him scared of the child, and the other scared of Gibbs. Questioning Gibbs was never a good move. But Jimmy looked genuinely terrified, which only made the situation even more amusing for Gibbs. Not that he would admit that to anyone ever. Jimmy was the obvious choice. He was the one who looked after the scout kid who was basically Tony DiNozzo trapped in a twelve year old's body. And he had managed to do that without messing up too badly.

Gibbs said nothing but gave him a look as if to say "you do realise who you're argueing with".

"Umm… Gibbs," Jimmy started, "I deal with dead bodies. Not living people. And definitely not small children." But he was not getting out of this one.

Without a word Gibbs shot a smile at the kid, and a glare at Jimmy. And then he was gone.

oooOOOooo

"I hate you."

Jardine's ears perked up at the sound of voices coming from the elevator. There was something about feeling like a babysat child that made her nervous. In her mind, the sooner the team got back and tasked her with something vaguely useful to do, the better. But judging by the harsh words leaving Kate's mouth, that wasn't going to be likely.  
"Agent Todd," Jardine said, smiling. Agent Todd was a woman. Agent Todd knew what it was like trying to make it in a man's world. Agent Todd would take her in. Right?

Clearly Agent Todd had other things in mind.

"Jardine," Kate said sweetly. And then her smile vanished, "I'll give you some advice. _Never_ ask McGee for advice about how to deal with men."

Jardine was trying to work out what was scarier, the fact Kate's smile had disappeared so fast, or the look she was currently directing at McGee.

"I give good advice!" McGee said indignantly.

"You told me to buy him chocolate!" Kate retaliated.

Clearly the look of confusion on Jardine's face was picked up by the senior field agent, who decided to take pity on the newbie.  
"It is Ari's birthday in a week, and Kate does not know what to get him," Tony said, flicking his mouse to activate the computer screen. Immediately both Kate and McGee stopped moving, as if someone had pressed the pause button on their lives. And now Jardine was really confused. Looking between the team members, she waited to see some kind of life.

"Wait, you're not going to make some comment about chocolate and my sex life?" Kate said.

"You're not going to say something about Abby and I?" McGee interjected. Tony looked up and shrugged.

"Do you want me to?"

"No, gosh no," Kate said, "I like you better when you talk less."

As all slid soundlessly into their stations and started their research, Jardine was yet again left standing in the middle of the squad room, and still with no purpose. She sighed dejectedly, her eyes flicking around the room to find something to do. And clearly the lost puppy look was getting her places.

"You can use the desk over there," McGee said, motioning to the lone desk behind the orate patrician. Jardine shot him a grateful look. At least now she had something to do.

The bullpen fell as silent as it ever was, the usual office buzz punctuated by the insistent tapping on computer keys. And then they all heard it.

McGee heard it first, him being the closest one to the patrician. There was a strange, constant squeaking noise, the kind that only came from the cat toys, or rubber chickens. But what was it doing behind the walls.

Slowly Kate and Tony became aware of the sound, all shooting McGee strange looks, as if accusing him of emitting those noises. Wordlessly Tony and Kate got off their chairs simultaneously, walking quietly across bullpen to close the distance between themselves and the mystery noise. It was only when all three of them had gathered in front of McGee's desk when they leaned around the side of the orange placard to see what was happening on the other side of the wall. And they were surprised, to say the least…

Jardine had somehow secreted a packet of wetwipes from somewhere on her person, and was now proceeding to wipe down every surface of the desk, from the mouthpiece of the telephone to each individual key of the keyboard.

The team exchanged glances, but before they could communicate anything, the chime of the elevator was heard, and the sound of their infamous leader beckoned.

"What have we got!" Gibbs said as soon as he had got out of the elevator in his typically perfect "yes, the elevator was waiting for me to get into it. Because even it is afraid of me" styles. Jardine's head whipped round, and her eyes filled with fear at the image of the three agents peering curiously at her. But before she could voice any of her indignation, the team had moved to lean on the front of their desks in a loose circle.

"James Davis. Father of Ashley Davis and husband of Janet Davis," McGee started.

"Came back from his tour in the Middle East, but decided to stay to be with his family," Kate continued from where McGee had left of.

"Any reason to want him dead?" Gibbs asked. This was all pointing to a hit, the men turning up at his doorstep and killing him, no questions asked, execution style.

"No strong religious views, not political. As far as guys go he is pretty much what you see is what you get. Even Kate could buy a birthday present for him" DiNozzo finished. McGee and Kate both turned to him with the same expressions on their faces. There was no way that Tony was going to not make a comment on Kate's inability to buy presents. That thought was too good to be true. Gibbs shook his head, oblivious to the team's previous comment, and not particularly wanting to know what had happened. Moving swiftly on.

"Jardine, did you find anything useful?"

"Ermm…"

Gibbs could see the thought process going through the woman's mind, as she realised that the "all of mine have already been said" excuse only worked in primary school.

"Kate, McGee, go check on his work place. Talk to his boss, colleagues. Find something that isn't on file. Jardine, DiNozzo find out everything you can about that company." And before anyone could say anything, he was gone.

* * *

"You found anything Duck?"  
"Cause of death was the neck wound. That slash caused the lungs to fill with blood. He literally drowned in his own blood," Ducky began, indicating the wound.

"The edges of the wound indicate that a serrated blade was used. Maybe a hunting knife? Abby may be able to help you with that one." Gibbs was taking notes as he spoke.

"Thanks Duck," Gibbs said, turning to leave.

"I'm not done," Ducky said, and Gibbs turned back around, "A knife wound is always different to poison or a shooting. It's personal, you have to look your victim in the eye as you kill them, and watch the life drain out of their eyes."

"Someone wanted to watch him die."  
"And death would have been painful. Someone didn't just want to kill him. They wanted him to suffer," he said, that dark tone evident in his voice. It was almost that it pained him to understand such cruelty and evil. Gibbs nodded.

"Thanks Ducky."

At that moment, Gibbs' mobile went off, and as he picked up, Ducky could hear the thrill panicked voice of Mr Palmer on the over end. He was too far away to decipher exactly what was said, but judging by the next words to come out of Gibbs' mouth, it was not good.

"You did what?!"

"I'm sorry Gibbs," Palmer stuttered out, a panicked look in his eye, as he tried to not break eye contact with Gibbs, but eye the small child that was currently running around the office of Abby's lab.

"You gave a 6 year old Red Bull!?" Make that a highly caffeinated child running around the lab.

"She wanted a drink…" Jimmy attempted to justify, but to no avail.

"So you gave her Caf-Pow?" Gibbs gestured over to the child. It was in that moment that he realised that the child was heading towards the door of the ballistics lab. The unlocked door of the ballistics lab. In a lightning-fast move that could only be mastered by Gibbs and possibly Superman (although the latter was debatable), Gibbs managed to shut, and lock the door, much to the child's displeasure.

"It was the only thing Abby had down here, an-"

"Vending machines, Palmer! They were invented for a reason!" Gibbs cut him off. Loudly.

"But… you see… I was helping Ab- Where are you going?" Jarod asked nervously as Gibbs turned her back on him and walked back into the lab.

"Tell me you've found something."

"I found something!" Abby said, her cheerful disposition not deterred in the slightest.

"The edges of the wound was caused by some sort of serrated blade. It looks like your average hunting knife, but we're trying to reconstruct the attack using the depth of the wound to guess not only the type of knife but the speed that it was travelling at, the angle of the blade…" she was babbling. Again.

"Anything useful Abby?"

"Patience," she said, shooting Gibbs a smile. That smile was the reason that Abby got away with so much. That and the fact that no-one else dare talk to Gibbs like that.

"We found a partial print on the blood trail."

"Are you running it through AFIS?"

"Nope!" she said cheerfully. There was a pause, as Gibbs tried to get annoyed, but failed. Who could stay annoyed at Abby for long?

"Not a fingerprint. A glove print." She clicked a few buttons and another image appeared on his screen.

"The unique stitching on the glove made it easy to match. It's a leather glove, designer label and very expensive. Not everyone can afford this kind of thing. But with the money, anyone can get it." So what she was saying that lots of people could have it. But not many did. Useful. She turned to leave.

"Gibbs!"

He turned to see that Abby was tilting her head towards him. Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, he pecked a kiss on her cheek. And in a (figurative) puff of smoke, he was gone.

At eight o'clock the team and Jardine sat in their designated places in silence, all frustrated at the lack of evidence. All they had was an expensive glove that could be purchased in 50 shops in that state alone.

"So the caffeine rush wore off," Tony joked. But judging my how frazzled Palmer looked as he got off the elevator, carrying the sleeping child in his arms.  
"I'm heading off for the night. She's yours now." And with that he left.

The agents sat there, none of them knowing what to do. This was NCIS's finest, the team with the best marksmen who could floor bad guys without a blink of the eye or breaking into sweat. But now they all sat, looking absolutely terrified. By a small 6 year old child.

Just at that moment, Gibbs rounded the corner in his characteristic "Gibbs" fashion.

"Go home."

"But what about the child?" Kate asked, not moving. Gibbs glared at her, but she just stared right back at him. Questioning Gibbs' direct orders just wasn't something that was done. Unless, apparently, you were Kate.

"I'm taking her." McGee and DiNozzo stopped what they were doing and looked at Gibbs.

"Are you sure?" DiNozzo asked and McGee and Kate shot him a "are you insane?" look. But clearly he was.

"OK, so you take her," Gibbs said. Tony's lack of answer seemed to be all he needed.

"I'll go tell the surveillance team to set up outside your house," and with that, their fearless leader was gone.

There was a moment of shocked silence as the team took in what just happened. A shocked silence that McGee felt the need to break.

"You did ask for it," he pointed out.

"Not helping, McSmart-Ass," Tony said, picking up the phone of his desk, and hurriedly pressing the numbers in. As soon as the call was connected he launched into the conversation.

"Ziva. I need your help. How good are you with kids?"

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**_Oooo, Tiva and a kid? that should be interesting..._**

**_Please PLEASE leave a review to tell me what you thought of this chapter. The faster you review, the faster I update with a chapter about Tiva and a kid... ;D_**


	34. Chapter 34

_**Greetings, one and all.**_

_**This update comes to you through half-closed eyes (I am going to fall asleep. any moment now.), and with a smile. I had to read back my entire story (all 141 pages on word. wowzers...) just to get a detail right, and I realised that I haven't had any kissing scenes in AGES! hence, the numerous make out moments in this chapter :P you have been warned. **_  
_**in reponse to Crazy-random-reader of hogwart, no, Ashley is not going to be a permanent character, just a minor character who is meant to add a little something to the story!**_

**_DISCLAIMER: I own Ashley (wow that sounds weird) but no other characters. :(_**

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Chapter 34

Tony was freaking out. And by freaking out, he meant full-fledged, "the world is going to end" panic. Here he was, in his own house, armed to the teeth with everything the child may need (courtesy of Gibbs. Where did that man find all of that!?). But despite his well-supplied stock hold, he didn't feel any more prepared for battle. His secret weapon however, was yet to come. Or at least, that is what he hoped Ziva would be.

He had left the child (sorry, Ashley. Apparently not all children liked being called squirt, as he had discovered based on the disapproving look he had received from said child. That kid had the same look that Kate gave him whenever she did not approve. The resemblance was uncanny. It was rather frightening).

Just then, the door was flung open, and his knight in shining armour (traditional gender roles be damn) entered, and apparently not impressed.

"Where did you put her?" Ziva said, no conventional greeting in sight.

"Evening to you. She's in front of the electronic babysitter." At Ziva's confused look, he clarified, "the television. She's in the living room."

"That was your plan? Leave her in front of the television," Ziva said, the disapproval in her voice as clear as day.

"No, my plan was you," Tony said, shooting her a charming smile that was set to get him out of any trouble he happened to be in.

"Why did you assume I would be helpful? Because I am a woman?"  
"No, because you run a dance school full to the brim with those little people for a living," Tony shot back, and the silence he received was reward enough. He had one this round.

"You are hopeless," she said, leaning in to give him a brief peck on the cheek, as if apologising for the lack of greeting earlier.

"So, what's her story?" Ziva said, picking up the plastic bag at her feet, and proceeding to unpack the contents onto the countertop. Tony hadn't even noticed she was carrying a bag in the first place.

"The dad was knifed earlier today. Her mother was visiting family friends, and is flying back tomorrow to pick the little one up," Tony said, his voice dropping so as not to be heard by said kid.

"Poor kid," Ziva said softly.

"I'm not a kid!"  
The voice startled both adults out of their conversation, turning guiltily to look at the child who was apparently not been watching television all that time.

"Hello, my name is Ziva," Ziva said sending a smile at the young girl.

"Errmmm… T-T-Tiva?"

The girl was clearly struggling, tasting the strange mix of letters in her mouth like a food she had never tasted before.

"No, Ziva," Ziva corrected, and little girl muttered to herself until the letters came out properly.

"And who are you?" Ziva said.

"You already know," Ashley said. So the kid was clearly not co-operating.

"I would like to hear it from you," Ziva said patiently. There was a silence, where the little girl was attempting to psych Ziva out. But apparently there was something in Ziva's quiet confidence that made the little girl give in.

"I'm Ashley."

Damn, Ziva was good. She clearly had more talents than met the eye. And Ziva looked pretty talented, so that was saying something.

"So, do you like pasta?"

McGee sighed, sliding back down further in his seat. How come he was the one who always ended up in the van manning the equipment? There was Tony, inside with his beautiful fiancée, getting to actually sleep at night. But then again, Tony did have to look after the kid. OK, maybe McGee had got the better of the two evils…

Slipping on his headphones, McGee checked in with the various points stationed around Tony's apartment. It had been hard setting up security in the neighbourhood without receiving too many strange looks. Tony lived in one of those up and coming areas of town, one that was scattered with new houses, and houses in the process of being built. It wasn't ideal for surveillance, with multiply entrances and exits to the house, and no back door in case a quick escape was needed. On the plus side, the road was fairly quiet, with the only movement being the odd resident getting home.

McGee checked the cameras one final time, before deciding that if anyone did try to break in, they would be caught. In another window of his computer screen, he brought up the messaging service, and tried to patch himself into Abby's lab. But as the rings reverberated around the van, he soon realised that Abby was not in the lab, and had probably like any sane person turned in for the night. Sighing, he plucked his phone from his blazer pocket, moving to send her a message to say goodnight. However, someone somewhere clearly had other ideas.

His phone let out a shrill chirp, and McGee 's finger shot out to silence the noise and pick up.

"Hello?"  
"Open the door," Abby said. He hadn't looked at the caller ID but apparently Abby had been thinking of him the moment that he had been. Like they were turned together, like a well-oiled machine.

McGee stood up to open the door to the surveillance van, and was surprised to see the woman herself there.

"Abby? What are you doing here?"

"Tiva are babysitting a kid. I wasn't going to miss it," Abby said. McGee hadn't hung up the phone, so Abby seemed to decide to take things into her own hands. Moving closer to him, so close that their breaths intermingled, and the temperature seemed to rise a few degrees in the van, Abby prised the phone from his grasp, and hung up the call, without ever breaking eye contact with him. Sliding her hands into his inside blazer pocket, she put the phone in, patting it gently as she closed it.

"Hi," she said softly, and McGee grinned.

Leaning down, he tilted her head up so that her lips would press into his just right. And as he clashed his lips down onto hers, he couldn't think of anything that could be more right. Abby groaned into his mouth, as he teased her with his talented mouth, gently kissing her but never engaging with her as he knew she wanted him to. He peppered kissed down the left side of her face, the gentle feathery kisses only working to drive her insane. As his kisses moved lover down, he suddenly strengthened the kiss, just as he hit that point on her neck which never failed to make her take a sharp breath, and pressed his lips fully against that spot, ravishing her so much she was certain that it was going to leave a mark. But Abby was far from a passive in this duel, and she pulled at his dark locks to steer his head back to her lips, where she sealed them over her own. He ran his arms up and down her sides, and she shuddered at the contact. With the warmer weather, Abby was able to throw off the layers that had covered her in the winter months, and now there were few layers between her skin and Timmy's talented hands. Hands that would never fail to send shudders down her body, and cause her body to arc in pleasure.

They withdrew after a long time, both suddenly more devoid of breath than they had frist been when they entered the van.

"Hi yourself," McGee said, his grin large enough that if threatened to encase his entire face.

"Do you see that?" Abby said, and at McGee's quizzical look, she explained, "Your ego just inflated. It now rivals Tony's."

McGee chuckled at his girlfriend's antics, and was about to lean in for another kiss when…

"You two! Stop playing grab-ass!"

Gibbs' voice came through the speakers of one of the screens, and both Abby and McGee turned sharply to stare at it. And true to their suspicions, Gibbs was there on the screen in front of them. And he looked angry.

"Abby, what are you doing there?"

"I'm going to stay the night. Keep McGee company," she said, lifting the bag in her hands up to the camera so Gibbs could see. McGee hadn't noticed that she'd even had anything with her, what with the two of them being so… preoccupied.

"No you're not," Gibbs said, and McGee could swear he felt the back of his head smarting from the phantom headslap Gibbs was giving him.

"Gibbbbbbssss!" Abby whined, and McGee eyes widened. If he said that to Gibbs, he would be dead meat.

"Behave," Gibbs said finally. Apparently Abby got away from this kind of thing.

"Love you!" Abby said cheekily, which pulled a grin from Gibbs, before he cut the connection off.

Abby plopped herself down on the leather seat next to him, unzipping her back pack and unpacking the contents onto the table.

"You love Gibbs?" McGee said, warily eyeing the objects coming out of Abby's bag (really, nunchucks?).

"Aww McGee," Abby replied, sensing McGee's jealousy, "I love you too!"

McGee grinned. He had always thought that he have to say "I love you" for Abby to say "I love you too". But Abby was never a conventional kind of girl…

Back inside the house, Tony had left the girls in the kitchen making pasta, as he took a quick shower. It was strange seeing Ziva in his kitchen, using his utensils, making herself so at home. And with a child added into the mix (pun intended), it was an almost domestic scene. And the scary part was that he could imagine all too well coming home to a similar scene, Ziva in the kitchen cooking with a little Italian-Israeli ninja kid. And though the prospect was frightening (imagine their kid… it would be the most stubborn little thing, but would be beautiful and charming, so could get away with murder. That kid would be trouble), it was strangely enough something that he could see happening one day. He would have never seen him as the kind of guy who would be into the whole family life thing, but he had never seen himself as the kind to get married. And yet there he was, engaged to marry a beautiful Israeli woman, who was as jaded and weighted as he was. So maybe kids weren't such a far cry after all.

But before all of that, he was planning in making an honest woman out of her. He wasn't going to lie and say that he was normally did things in that order, but Ziva made him want to do things right. She made him want to give her what she needed, and not what he wanted her to give him. Although there was always that fire, whether it was simmering beneath the surface, or was a raging inferno of passion. And that fire made it increasingly difficult to keep the promise he had internally made her. But he was going to do this. For once in his life.

Towel drying his hair, he wandered back into the kitchen, moving more by sense of smell than sight. Because damn, there was something in that kitchen that smelt really good.

"Now gently."

Tony heard Ziva's voice, a soft murmur, as she coaxed the little girl into stirring with a little less vigour. It was an amazing sight, Ziva with her hair bundled up as to not get in the way, and the little girl standing on a seat to reach the stove and stir whatever that pot contained.

"What's cooking, good looking?" he said, sweeping in and trying to nab a taste of whatever was in the bubbling pot. But Ziva slapped his hand away, and he whined like an injured animal.

"Go lay the table," Ziva said firmly, "we will be out in a moment."

Tony mock saluted Ziva, pulling a giggle from Ashley, who clearly saw Ziva as the favourite (traitor…). Tony gently bumped Ziva out of the way with his hip so he could reach the cutlery drawer, and scooped out everything that he needed.

Just as Tony finished placing the cutlery down on his scarcely used dining table, Ziva emerged from the kitchen, armed with two plates of pasta, and a small child. Said child was carrying another plate of pasta and some garlic bread.

As they collectively dug in (damn, Ziva was a good cook), silence fell upon the table, as Tony and Ashley tried to eat their food as quickly as possible.

"It will not disappear if you wait between mouthfuls," Ziva said, aiming her sentence at both of her companions, who both looked up guiltily with spaghetti falling out of their mouths. They were both such children. And she was marrying the man…

"So, do you live here?" Ashley said.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Ziva said, and Ashley dutifully swallowed her pasta before asking her question again. Tony was amazed at how _maternal _Ziva was, especially considering the fact she didn't have any children of her own (no matter how much Tony was daydreaming about a green eyed, brown haired ninja child). It was as if some kind of instinct had kicked in, brought on by the sudden contact with a child.

"No, I do not live here," Ziva replied, then she raised an eyebrow at Tony "in fact, this is the first time I have been here."

Tony was about to open his mouth to deny such a claim, but they closed it when he realised that she was right. He was rarely at home, but preferred to spend time with Ziva. He had never really had anyone in his house for a while now, what with him preferring to spend his free time at Ziva's apartment.

"That was not my fault. You never came," Tony replied, and Ziva rolled her eyes, causing Ashley to giggle once again.

A few hours and a soggy by bathed seven year old later, Ziva and Tony dropped down onto the couch, exhausted.

"Who knew such a small person could be so much work," Tony said, his eyes closed. Ziva just nodded in agreement, her head moving against the sofa making enough noise for Tony to know that she had heard him. Tony heard a rustling of movement, and then he felt a presence. On top of him.

Opening his eyes, he saw Ziva had manoeuvred herself until she sat on his lap. The mere feeling of her on top of him made all the thought about making an honest woman of her flee from his mind. Because with her pressed against her, leaning in so that they were touching almost everywhere was doing strange things to his pulse rate.

"What was wrong with your seat over there," Tony said, his voice deepening to the tone only reserved for when he was this close to Ziva.

"I like it on top," Ziva said suggestively, and Tony groaned as the onslaught of images in his mind came thick and fast.

Wordlessly Ziva dropped her lips into his, and Tony felt the fire that burned within him build again. Her lips pressed against his, moulding a shaping his lips until they were exactly the way she wanted them. Because she was in control. She was the one who more his arms until they were lying on her slim waist, and as he ran them up and down them through the thin layer of her T-shirt, she gasped at the feeling. How could he forget that her side were an erogenous zone for her, one of the most unusual, but the most sensitive area of her body. He detached his lips from hers, instead kissing down her neck as she arched back at the sensation. His hands were never still, tracing from her sides to her thighs, and moving from her outer to inner thighs in long dragging movements. And every little intake of breath, every shaky gasp told him everything that he needed to know. That was enjoying this all. Very much.

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**_You likey!? Please review! :)_**


	35. Chapter 35

**_I'M SORRY! :O :( *ducks and hide in corner*_**

**_I am an awful person... it had been far too long :( but real life has been getting crazy, and for many weird not very interesting reason, I haven't had much of a chance to write :( but fear not, for here it is! an update!_**

**_any of you guys out there Les Mis fans? I just watched the 25th Anniversary Concert, and then the film, and I have to say, I'm hooked. Anyone out there feel the same? and what is this I hear on the scuttlebug about people hating the Les Mis fandom?!_**

**_wow, I've gotten rusty at this. This author's note is long. _**

**_Anyways, I know that I don't deserve your reviews, but please leave you love/hate in a review! :)_**

**_Disclaimer: not mine. _**

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Chapter 35

Ziva's eyes shot open, her hands immediately coming up to cover her face against her phantom attacker. But as she felt Tony shift next to her, her hands dropped to her sides, and she let out a sigh, her head tilted back against the onslaught of emotion that her nightmares brought. It was just a dream, she had to remind herself, as she shuffled her body back so that she lay even deeper in Tony's arms. She took his hand in hers, playing with the long slender fingers. But despite her movement, Tony remained dead to the world, so encased in his dream world, and not wanting to let go. Ziva couldn't quite decide whether she was happy for his peace, or just downright annoyed.

Ziva opened her eyes once again, the images from her dream were still vividly painted onto her eyelids, and no matter how she tried, they would not leave. It wasn't like the bright like that burned on her retina when she stared at a light to bright to be looked at. It was more like a searing pain, an excruciating image that felt so real, and as alive as the man lying next to her. Sighing, she resigned herself to the fact that she would probably not sleep again that night. Extracting herself from Tony's sleeping form, she slid silently out of the bed, her feet padding against the thick woollen carpet, and out into the landing, and into the kitchen.

Flicking on the light, and opening the fridge in the same movement, Ziva pulled out the half carton of milk that sat in the side drawer. And as she turned around, she spotted something in the reflection of Tony's metal kettle. Something moving.

Ashley stood there, pulling at the sleeves nervously and putting one in her mouth in that way children could whilst still being cute. Wordlessly Ziva took two mugs out of the cupboard instead of just her own, and then poured milk into the two mugs, and putting those in the microwave. Still she did not say anything, as she waited for the milks to finish warming in the microwave, and once the chime signalled their perfect temperature (what could she say, she had lots of practise), she turned around to address the child.

Ashley at some point had moved to sit on the breakfast bar, clearly not deterred by the high chairs that would normally pose a challenge for someone as vertically challenged. She made a mental note to tell her not to climb on her own next time (wow, she was starting to sound like her mother…). Ziva slid the mug of milk over to the girl, and took a seat opposite her.

Silently they sipped their milk, Ashley trying to psych Ziva out with that freakishly intelligent look in her eye, and Ziva trying to think of what to say. She had always had the suspicion that Ashley would not stay sleeping that night, even when she and Tony had put her down to bed the night before. Even among the strangely domestic scene, Ziva had known that there was no way that Ashley would spend the night sleeping in a strange house when she had seen her father die. No matter what age, losing a father was tough. And it would result in many sleepless nights to come.

"Where's daddy?"

Those words. Those words broke her heart. How on earth was she supposed to tell this kid that her father was currently lying in a morgue somewhere in Washington, as a team that included the man whose house this was investigated?

"He is a little sick. He needs to be looked after," Ziva started.

"Looked after by who?" Ashley said, not looking Ziva in the eye, but playing with the milk on the edge of her mug with that tiny fragile fingers.

"Well," Ziva said, stalling for time before she was forced to answer, "who looks after you when you are ill?"

"Mummy," Ashley said.

"And so maybe he needs to be looked after by his mummy?" Ziva said, as more of a question than a statement. She had never done this before. What was she supposed to say?

"Ohh…" Ashley said, and Ziva almost sighed in relief at the fact that the child was not emotionally scarred by her inability to deal with small children.

"Where's your dad?" Ashley asked. And for a moment, Ziva in her nightmare once again. Her nightmare where she had been the one to kill her father, that she had got angry, and lashed out, and killed him. Those nightmares were the most frightening. Those ones that were so close to reality, that they might have come true, had the turn of events been ever so slightly different. It was terrifying to know that the monsters of your dreams could come and get you. And it was even more terrifying when the monster was you.

Ziva stood up, turning her back to the child, pretending to look for biscuits to go with their midnight snack. The cover allowed her those few moment that she needed to pull herself together, for the sake of Ashley, and for the sake of her sanity.

"He is," Ziva started, closing her eyes again to keep her emotions in check, "He has gone."

Tony had woken up the moment he felt Ziva stir in his arms. It was impossible not to, he could feel her moving in her sleep as her body was pressed against his, causing a welcomes pressure against his chest. Her fear and anger evident in her every move and he could pinpoint the exact moment her eyes flew open, when her movements stilled as she feared that she had woken him. He smiled at her actions, and he desperately fought off the urge to curl his fingers around her tiny hands as she entwined hers with his. But staying perfectly still and keeping up the charade, he let her hands play with hers, before she released them, and he had to force his hand to fall back lifelessly. It took all he could not to follow her as she swung her legs from the bed, and out of his arms.

Tony found himself at the bottom of his stairs, his quiet footsteps making him feel like a burglar in his own home. He was about to make his presence known, offer some kind of remedy for Ziva's nightmares, when he spotted the kid behind Ziva, looking every past the scared child in her pink pyjamas, courtesy of Gibbs and a broken chain of evidence (terrifying the techies in the way that only Gibbs could). Tony didn't want to intrude where he knew Ziva could cope. He had never been that kid with the loving, caring parents, and he knew first-hand how this could effect a child. And he didn't want to be the one to make that happen. Despite he want to do things right with Ziva, he didn't think he was quite ready enough to be that father.

Leaning against the wall, he settled to watch the scene unfold, and trying to not feel like an unwanted gaze. And as he heard the conversation between the girls progress, he became even more conscience of his silent presence. Ziva's reassurance was so comforting (and he was sure that the warm milk didn't hurt either), that it as no surprise that the kid seemed to be reacting positively. It was only in only in that moment where Ashley spoke about Ziva's own father, standing directly on the time bomb of emotion that Ziva had been avoiding for the longest of times. And when she uttered those words, partly to Ashley, and partly to herself, Tony realised something he should have a long time ago. This was the first time Ziva had voiced the revelation of her father's death aloud. It was like she had been in some kid of subconscious denial phase. But now this child of all people had coaxed her out of that dark place. And finally Ziva could have the peace that alluded her for so long.

Finally.

oooOOOooo

"It makes you thing, doesn't it?" Kate said as the team watcher Ashley being re-united with her mother. The whole team stood in the bullpen, Ziva having said her goodbyes as left for work that morning, and for once there was no thick dark cloud covering the space, as death and destruction sought refuge among the stained orange walls. But somehow, the darkness had fled, hiding until another day where it would return to their lives one again. But the light had been victorious. The light in the form of that small child currently smothered in her mother's arms.

"Think of what?" Tony said, keeping up the class clown act like there was no tomorrow.

"Kids," Kate clarified.

"You sure? Because I still remember that conversation we had a while back that involved kids and trackers…" Tony said trailing off at the murderous glare he received from Kate.

"Kids are a hell of a responsibility," McGee, being the caring idiot that he was and nobody's side on this one.

"Are you saying that I couldn't do it?" Kate said, quirking one eyebrow in that sophisticated and yet terrifying way that one she could (and possibly Ziva. But Ziva was his ninja, and Kate was just scary. Scary if you were Probie over there…)

"No!" McGee said quickly, "I was just saying that… people! Yes, um, people in general aren't responsible. You, on the other hand…" he trailed of nervously.

"So I am not a person?" Kate said, crossing her arms and sending him a glare. McGee opened and closed his mouth frantically, like a gormless fish.

"Put his down Kate, he's not a toy," Gibbs said, standing there like he had been there all along, and he hadn't just been metres away seconds ago. Tony glanced at Kate looking for an explanation to Gibbs' unnatural speed, but Kate just shrugged her shoulders. This was Gibbs they were talking about. Gibbs, who had the uncanny ability to appear just as Abby discovered something new on the case, who could win an battle for anything, no matter what agency in what country. Kate wasn't even going to attempt to explain that man. Who was she to explain the unexplainable.

It was at that moment where Kate saw the elevator signal a visitor to their humble abode, and out stepped Ari.

"Caitlin," he said, he mouth caressing her name in one of the most suggestive ways she had ever heard (wait, what? Who was she, some trashy romance novelist?!). She noticed that it had been a while since he had got a haircut, and he his dark locks had been growing. His hair had now grown past the short course layer that it had previously been, and now was brushing the tops of his ears. And it was a good look for him.

"Are you free?" Ari said, in an endearing nervous way, with being confronted with the team. Ari had met them all before, both individually and on groups. But this was the first time that he was in an enclosed space with all of them (if you counted the squad room as an enclosed space). That combined with the fact he was basically asking Kate out in front of them did nothing to calm his nerves.

"For, lunch?" he finished pathetically, trying to ignore the way that both McGee and Tony were puffing out their chests in a weird big brother kind of way. In a way that looked like they were about to beat him up.

Maybe this was a bad move.

"Ermmm… yeah sure, Gibbs?" Kate said, equally nervously .

Gibbs paused for a moment, enjoying the bated breath that the whole team plus Ari seemed to be sharing. And just because he was the boss, didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun.

"Sure," he said, and as the couple were walking away to the elevator, he threw away a final comment, "Have her home before midnight!"

Judging by the sarcastic tilt of the head and glare he received, Kate did not appreciate it.

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**_hehehe... reviews? ;D_**


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